The Madagiz offensive, also called the Battle of Madagiz (; ), or the Battle of Sugovushan (), was a military operation launched by

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 th ...

against the self-proclaimed

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...

and their

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n allies during the

2020 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 Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

. The offensive began on 28 September, when the Azerbaijani forces advanced towards Armenian positions near the abandoned village of Talish. By 3 October, the Azerbaijani forces had seized control of Talish, and the town of

Madagiz Madagiz ( hy, Մատաղիս, Mataghis) or Sugovushan (, ), is a village in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Timeline

On 27 September 2020, clashes broke out in the disputed

Nagorno-Karabakh region Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mos ...

, which is ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' controlled by Artsakh, but ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' part of

. This was followed by an offensive launched by the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...

in the direction of Talish and

next day, with the Azerbaijani forces had gaining control of a "strategic high ground" around Talish. On 29 September, the Azerbaijani authorities stated that their aerial and ground forces destroyed a mixed column of Armenian military vehicles travelling from Madagiz, together with an artillery battery. They also stated that the Azerbaijani forces had destroyed an Armenian position near Talish. On 2 October, the Azerbaijani forces captured and took control of dominant heights around Madagiz, By 3 October, the Azerbaijani forces had seized control of Talish and Madagiz, as well as the latter's strategic dam. On 9 October, the Azerbaijani authorities released confirmary footage from Talish and Madagiz.

Aftermath

On 3 October, Madagiz was renamed to Sugovushan by the decree of

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

, the

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", ...

. Azerbaijani colonel

Babak Samidli Babak Matlab oglu Samidli (; 1974-2020) was an Azerbaijani military officer, and a colonel serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. He was deputy commander of the 1st Army Corps. Life and service Samidli was born in the Goychay District. In Jun ...

, deputy commander of the 1st Army Corps, died from a land-mine explosion on 23 November, during a post-armistice search for the bodies of missing soldiers in Madagiz.

References

{{Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Battles of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war 2020 military operations Battles involving Armenia Battles involving Azerbaijan September 2020 events in Asia September 2020 events in Europe October 2020 events in Asia October 2020 events in Europe