Humanitarian problems caused by Karabakh conflict must be eliminated

HShe made the remarks at a meeting in the training and education center of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces with the participation of officers of various types of troops, the Defense Ministry reported.

Speaking at the meeting, Huseynova spoke about the rules of conduct during operations in countries at war, as well as international military legislation and its norms.

She also spoke about the components, activitiy and role of ICRC. Huseynova noted that ICRC’s exceptional humanitarian mission is to preserve the life and dignity of the victims of war and other violence and to provide them with assistance.

The spokeswoman further touched upon the issues of elimination of humanitarian problems arising as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the promotion and application of international humanitarian law.

The meeting also discussed the conduct of preventive measures by the personnel to ensure the safety of the civilian population, protection of the wounded, support of civilians during conflicts, as well as rules of treatment of prisoners of war.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

He made the remarks in connection with the 25th anniversary of the occupation of Agdere and nearby villages, which are part of the Tartar region of Azerbaijan.

“Before the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, Agdere was the administrative center of one of the five regions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of Azerbaijan SSR,” Hajiyev noted.

He added that there are rich deposits of coal, limestone, copper, gold, lead and zinc in this territory, as well as the Sarsang hydro power station on Tartar river. As many as 44 percent of the area was covered with forests of rare and valuable tree species.

“As a result of the occupation, accompanied by the complete ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Azerbaijani population of Agdere, the cultural heritage belonging to the Azerbaijani people was plundered, and the infrastructure was destroyed,” Hajiyev stressed.

He added that with the deliberate purpose of Armenization, during the restoration of the Gandzasar complex, the Albanian Christian heritage belonging to the 13th century, its style was changed, and now the occupiers represent it as Armenian monument.

“Armenia and the fictional regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan have been carrying out illegal acts of plundering the wealth of Agdere for the past 25 years. Natural mineral resources of the territory are illegally and ruthlessly plundered,” the spokesman stressed.

He added that as enshrined in the four UN Security Council resolutions, the international community condemns the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and demands the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from the Azerbaijani territories.

“Only urgent steps in this direction can be the basis for a political solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the return of Azerbaijani internally displaced persons to their homes, including to Agdere and nearby villages,” Hajiyev noted.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.