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The Battle of Kalbajar took place in March and April 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It resulted in the capture of the
Kalbajar District Kalbajar District ( az, Kəlbəcər rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin, Khojaly, Agdam, Tart ...
of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
by
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
military forces. Kalbajar lies outside the contested enclave of the former
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...
(NKAO). The offensive was the first time Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh had advanced beyond the boundaries of the enclave (besides the capture of
Lachin Lachin ( az, Laçın, , ; hy, Բերձոր, translit=Berdzor; ku, Laçîn) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative center of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which links the disputed region of N ...
in 1992). Kalbajar District, located between Armenia and the western border of the former NKAO, was composed of several dozen villages and its provincial capital, also named
Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...
. The Armenian side launched an attack from four directions, including Armenia proper. After initial heavy resistance, the Azerbaijani defence quickly collapsed and the provincial capital fell on April 3, 1993. Armenian forces captured an area of more than 1,900 square kilometres, establishing a second overland link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of the battle, an estimated 60,000 Kurdish and Azerbaijani civilians were displaced. Civilians fled Kalbajar in April through mountains still covered in snow. Refugees reported that hundreds of people froze to death attempting to flee. Azerbaijan made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the region in winter 1993–1994. Kalbajar was under the control of the self-proclaimed
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
until November 25, 2020, when Armenian troops returned the region along with other occupied districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control under a
ceasefire agreement A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
mediated by Russia, ending the
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...
.


Background

An autonomous oblast during the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
era under the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijan SSR, Nagorno-Karabakh's population was approximately 76% ethnic Armenian. As the Soviet Union's disintegration approached during the late 1980s, the enclave's government expressed its desire to secede and unite with the neighbouring Armenian SSR. By 1991, Armenia and Azerbaijan were independent countries but the nascent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) remained internationally unrecognized despite its government's declaration of independence. Small-scale violence had flared up between the two ethnic groups in February 1988 but soon escalated to use of Soviet-built tanks, helicopters, and fighter bombers appropriated by both sides after the collapse of the Soviet Union. On May 9, 1992, Armenian forces captured the mountain stronghold of
Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govha ...
and soon after established a land connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia through
Lachin Lachin ( az, Laçın, , ; hy, Բերձոր, translit=Berdzor; ku, Laçîn) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative center of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which links the disputed region of N ...
. However, the Armenian side was caught unprepared by an Azerbaijani offensive in the summer of 1992, when Azerbaijani forces captured practically the entire northern part of Nagorno-Karabakh (the former Martakert District), at one point occupying nearly half of the territory of the former NKAO. Armenian forces managed to halt the Azerbaijani advance by October 1992 and began to retake territory in the north by February 1993.De Waal. ''Black Garden'', 210–211. "Suret Husseinov’s departure from the front left a gaping hole in one of the most sensitive parts of Azerbaijan’s defenses, the mountains of its largest region, Kelbajar". Meanwhile, internal divisions plagued the Azerbaijani war effort, with Colonel Surat Huseynov moving his units away from the frontline to
Ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
after being dismissed from his posts, leaving Kalbajar particularly vulnerable.


The region of Kalbajar

Kalbajar is a ''
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
'' surrounded by several canyons and an elevated mountain range known as the Murov Mountains. It is located between Armenia and the western boundary of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, and is of significant strategic importance to both sides. Its wartime population of approximately 60,000 was primarily made up of ethnic Azerbaijanis and
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
. In February-March 1993, Kalbajar was virtually surrounded, wedged between Armenia, Armenian-controlled
Lachin District Lachin District ( az, Laçın rayonu, ku, Navçeya Laçînê, script=Latn) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts ...
, and the Murov Mountains, the main mountain pass of which (the Omar Pass) is nearly impassable in the winter and early spring. Its main connection to the rest of Azerbaijan, the road to Tartar, passed through Armenian-controlled territory in
Martakert Province Martakert Province ( hy, Մարտակերտ) is a province of the Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The population is mainly Armenian. The province has 43 communities of which one is considered urban and 42 a ...
. Hakobyan, Tatul (2021). ''Artsʻakhyan oragir: Kanachʻ u sev'' arabakh Diary: Green and Black Yerevan: Lusakn. 234–235.


Rationale for its taking

In March 1993, military incursions by Azerbaijani forces and artillery barrages were reported to have been coming from the region, prompting military leaders to announce an offensive against the district.Melkonian. ''My Brother's Road'', 245. In an interview given in April 1993, General Gurgen Dalibaltyan, who planned the operation, explained that its strategic purpose was to "create a reliable connection between Karabakh and Armenia, since Lachin was in a difficult position, surrounded by enemy forces", while also referring to Kalbajar as "our historical homeland". Speaking in 2020,
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
, who was a member of the State Defence Committee of the NKR at the time of the battle, stated that the operation to capture Kalbajar was conceived in January 1993 and was aimed at securing the rear of Nagorno-Karabakh and especially Martakert Province, which in Sargsyan's words "was impossible to defend from multiple sides". One of the most successful Armenian commanders of the conflict and participant in the Battle of Kalbajar,
Monte Melkonian Monte Melkonian ( hy, Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. He was the leader of an offshoot of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation ...
, stated that Armenian forces had to take the district in order to suppress Azerbaijani artillery strikes against nearby Armenian villages. However, Melkonian also justified the operation on historical grounds, citing historical Armenian presence in the area. He stated, "This is a historical issue... ''of course'' this is historical Armenia... And we'll vindicate that reality o the Azerbaijaniswith our guns. Unfortunately! It would be nice if the Azerbaijanis would understand that reality is reality, agree and say OK, it's yours, and that's that". Questioned on the possibility of a large expulsion of civilians if the region was captured, Melkonian responded, "A lot of blood has been spilled on both sides... The emotions are high and that isn't conducive to living together in near or medium future".


The battle


Heavy resistance

Defeats in late March already had the Azerbaijani military evacuating civilians out of the region to the northern town of
Yevlakh Yevlakh ( az, Yevlax, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of capital Baku. It is surrounded by, but administratively separate from, the Yevlakh District. Etymology The settlement is mentioned by the 13th century Armenian historian St ...
and Azerbaijan's second-largest city,
Ganja Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
. The Armenians had assembled a force of several hundred men to enter Kalbajar from four different directions: Melkonian's detachment of tanks and troops from
Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and ...
would attack from the southeast, one fifty-man unit from the town of
Vardenis Vardenis ( hy, Վարդենիս) is a town and urban municipal community in the southeastern part of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at above s ...
, Armenia would enter from the west; the third force would attack from the village of Aghdaban in the north, and the primary attacking force would come from the village of Nareshtar. Kalbajar was protected only by a small group of defenders that received no reinforcements; a unit of 200 men attempting to reinforce the district was intercepted and defeated by Samvel Karapetyan's unit. A few days before the commencement of the operation, Armenian forces warned the Azerbaijanis in the district of the coming attack. The battered village of Charektar in Kalbajar had already seen extensive fighting in earlier weeks and was reinforced by both Azerbaijani and foreign Chechen,
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
and other fighters as the Armenian offensive commenced on March 27. However, instead of launching a simultaneous attack, only the units in Aghdaban and Nareshtar moved out. Melkonian's armoured column did not move out until later on and his units faced tenacious resistance on an embankment of entrenched defences where his forces were forced to retreat. The troops in Vardenis began their assault shortly thereafter but their advance was slowed since they had to trek through the snowy passes of the Murov Mountains. On March 28, Melkonian's forces resumed their attack on Charektar and an eight-hour battle ensued until his forces were able to break through the defences. They advanced twenty-nine kilometres, reaching the Tartar River on March 31. The stretched out Azerbaijani forces deployed throughout the region were unable to stop their advance. Within another twenty kilometres of his forces' positions was the Kalbajar District's namesake capital, a crucial road intersection that led to
Lachin Lachin ( az, Laçın, , ; hy, Բերձոր, translit=Berdzor; ku, Laçîn) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative center of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which links the disputed region of N ...
and the village of Zulfugarli. By March 29, Armenian forces encircled the town of
Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...
. A journalist reported seeing intensive bombardment of Kalbajar, including Grad artillery, originating from Armenia proper.


Melkonian's advance

The following two days saw a massive refugee column of cars and trucks "laden with bundles... bumper to bumper" trudging through the intersection. Melkonian ordered his forces to halt their advance until the remnants of the column dried up in the early afternoon of April 1. Assessing that most refugees had left, he ordered his units to advance and sent a detachment to guard a vital tunnel leading south towards Zulfugarli. While his troops had assumed that most civilians had left Kalbajar, they encountered a GAZ-52 transport truck in the tunnel and, thinking it was a military vehicle, fired and destroyed it with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. As they observed the wreck of the vehicle, the troops realized they had taken out a vehicle filled entirely with civilians: twenty-five Kurd and Azerbaijani ''
kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...
'' workers. Four of them, including the driver of the truck and his daughter, were killed. The rest were ordered by Melkonian to be taken to a hospital in Karabakh's capital of Stepanakert; however, as many as eleven of them died. After the Zulufgarli incident, his forces pushed forward and reached another vital intersection leading to Ganja, fifteen kilometres away from the capital. Civilians in Kalbajar continued to be evacuated by both air and the through the intersection and Melkonian halted his advance by a further forty hours to allow the traffic column to move through. On April 1, his forces issued a radio message to the governor of the region, instructing his forces to leave the capital. An ultimatum was placed until 2 pm of the following day. Identified by his radio codename, "Khan", the governor responded and stated, "We're never going to leave... we'll fight to the end."


Final push

As the deadline passed on April 2, Melkonian's armor entered the intersection and encountered a line of Azerbaijani tanks and infantry. A firefight ensued but lasted for only several minutes as the defence line was soon battered and destroyed. Many of the Azerbaijani forces were ill-prepared for the attack as Melkonian noted when pointing out to their lack of equipment. By April 3, the Armenian forces had encircled the capital and resistance had weakened. Azerbaijani commander Surat Huseynov and his 709th brigade, which had been tasked to defending the Murov Mountains, had retreated to Ganja after political and military problems began to unravel upon in the battlefield.De Waal. ''Black Garden'', 211–212. An account of the
war-weariness War-weariness is the public or political disapproval for the continuation of a prolonged conflict or war. The causes normally involve the intensity of casualties—financial, civilian, and military. It also occurs when a belligerent has the abil ...
afflicting the inhabitants of the town was described by Melkonian's elder brother, Markar: Although his contingent did not reach in time for the fighting, the city's capital was taken. Aside from some farm life, the town had been largely abandoned. With the taking of the region, Armenian forces now held a continuous swath of territory stretching from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia proper, a total of 3,000 square kilometres.Melkonian. ''My Brother's Road'', 249. In the retreat through the Omar Pass of the Murov mountain range, many Azerbaijani refugees froze to death. With the last helicopters leaving on April 1, they were forced to walk through the heavy snow at freezing temperatures. Nearly 39,000 civilians were processed into the camps at
Yevlakh Yevlakh ( az, Yevlax, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of capital Baku. It is surrounded by, but administratively separate from, the Yevlakh District. Etymology The settlement is mentioned by the 13th century Armenian historian St ...
and Dashkasan with as many as 15,000 unaccounted for. Four Azerbaijani
Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...
helicopters ferrying refugees and wounded out of the conflict zone crashed, the last of which was hit by Armenian forces.


Political ramifications

The offensive provoked international criticism against both the Armenians in Karabakh and the Republic. Vafa Guluzade, the chief adviser to then-president of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, Abulfaz Elchibey, alleged that the region was taken too easily because help arrived from the Russian 128th Regiment (7th Russian Army) stationed in Armenia. This charge was refuted by the operation's commander,
Gurgen Dalibaltayan Gurgen Harutyun Dalibaltayan ( hy, Գուրգեն Հարությունի Դալիբալթայան; 5 June 1926 – 1 September 2015) was an Armenian military commander. He was the Chief of General Staff of Armenian Armed Forces during the 1992 ...
, and others since "Moscow .e., the Russian governmentwas not in total control of Armenian military operations." Armenia's western neighbour,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, halted humanitarian aid coming to through its borders and closed its border with Armenia (the Turkey-Armenia border has remained closed ever since). The United States also condemned the offensive, issuing a "sharp rebuke" and sending an accompanying letter to the Armenian government. On April 30, 1993, Turkey and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
co-sponsored
United Nations Security Council Resolution 822 United Nations Security Council resolution 822 was adopted unanimously on 30 April 1993. After expressing concern at the deterioration of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the subsequent escalation of armed hostilities and deteriorat ...
which called for Armenians in the region to withdraw immediately from Kalbajar and "other recently occupied areas of Azerbaijan". Turkey's President
Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...
raised the possibility of military intervention on Azerbaijan's side and set forth on a tour of Turkic former Soviet republics on April 14 (Özal would die of a heart attack just three days later).. Özal's reasoning was based on his belief that the Russians had too great a role in the conflict.
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
also condemned the offensive since many refugees in Azerbaijan were fleeing south towards its borders. In an attempt to end the hostilities, U.S., Russia and Turkey reiterated the call for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan on May 6, which would be followed by formal peace talks. The loss of Kalbajar was a significant blow to the authority of President Abulfaz Elchibey and his party, the
Popular Front of Azerbaijan The Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP; az, Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası, ) is a political party in Azerbaijan, founded in 1992 by Abulfaz Elchibey. After Elchibey's death in 2000, the party split into two wings, the ''reform'' win ...
. On April 12, 1993, Elchibey declared a two-month state of emergency in Azerbaijan. Two months later, the rebellious commander Surat Huseynov marched his troops on Baku, prompting Elchibey to flee the city and leading to the rise of
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...
to the presidency. In June 1993, Armenian president
Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan ( hy, Լևոն Հակոբի Տեր-Պետրոսյան; born 9 January 1945), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998 ...
threw his support behind a plan proposed by Russian, the United States and Turkey according to which Armenian forces would withdraw from Kalbajar district in return for security guarantees for Nagorno-Karabakh.De Waal. ''Black Garden'', 213. Ter-Petrosyan traveled to Stepanakert to persuade the Armenian leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh to agree to the plan, and offered to remain in Stepanakert for 10 days as a hostage to guarantee the realization of the plan. While the Nagorno-Karabakh leadership agreed, they asked for a one-month delay, and the plan was never realized as Azerbaijan fell into chaos and Armenian forces began a counter-offensive.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* De Waal, Thomas. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, 2003 * Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Report. ''Azerbaijan: Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh''. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995 * Hunter, Shireen T. ''The Transcaucasus in Transition: Nation-Building and Conflict''. Washington D.C.: The Center for Strategic & International Studies, 1994 * Melkonian, Markar. '' My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia''. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2005


External links


Excerpt on the battle on the NKR website


Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...
Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...
1993 in Armenia
Kalbajar Kalbajar ( az, Kəlbəcər , ) is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 7,246 before its capture by Armenian forces on ...
First Nagorno-Karabakh War Conflicts in 1993 March 1993 events in Asia April 1993 events in Asia {{good article