Karabakh is Azerbaijan

Fevzi KIZILKOYUN – Hurriyet reporter

1.WRITING

A new revolution took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was carved into memory 30 years ago with the “Khojaly” massacre of Armenia, the dramas of more than 1 million Azerbaijanis who were exiled from their native land; the migration of children and women Azerbaijanis. History this time writes not about the occupying Armenia, but about Azerbaijan, which started a movement to free(liberate) its own territory. Yes, when the date showed September 27, the Azerbaijani army launched an operation to free Karabakh against the occupying Armenia, besieging Nagorno-Karabakh from 3 branches and embarking on an operation to clear the Armenian army.

AND WE ARE IN AZERBAIJAN

The clashes began on the morning of September 27, 2020, on the touchline in Karabakh. While a state of war was declared in Azerbaijan, it went into partial martial law. Armenia also declared martial law and all-out mobilization both throughout the country and in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

My journey to Azerbaijan began on September 27, when the war began, as an official on behalf of the Hurriyet newspaper, to follow the war that began between the two countries. First I moved from Ankara to Istanbul, and then from Istanbul to Baku. After completing the necessary procedures to move to the front line, I set out for Karabakh. In Azerbaijan, where I came 3 times before, this time there was a different situation. “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” inscriptions and Azerbaijani and Turkish flags hung side by side in houses and workplaces drew attention on all the roads I passed to Karabakh, especially in Baku City Center.

6-HOUR JOURNEY TO KARABAKH

We went on a long journey from Baku to the front line, Karabakh. On our journey with an Azerbaijani guide and driver, I noticed the crowds in front of military branches and army headquarters. “Brother, do you know why thousands of people are waiting in these queues? They are waiting to go to the front, to enlist in the volunteer army to fight,” he answered the question in my head. Yes, thousands of Azerbaijani women, men, young and old voluntarily wanted to become soldiers, ready to fight. After a journey of about 6 hours, we arrived in Ağcabedi, 15 kilometers from the front line. Here we were on the war front, cannon fire, airstrikes, missiles and bombs thrown…

HERE IS THE MUROV FRONT

After spending the first night in the shadow of rockets and bombs dropped on civilian settlements by Armenia, we moved again on the second day to move to the front line, to the points of conflict. The first point we went to was the strategically important Murov Mountain. In the early days, the Azerbaijani army, which started progress on 3 fronts in the North, East and South in Karabakh with the “Crescent tactic” applied by the Turks in the wars for centuries, saved the hills on Mount Murov, which were of great strategic importance, from occupation. Azerbaijan had taken many hills on Mount Murov, captured strategic points and changed the course of the operation. Liberated from the occupation, we set out to go to the front line positions of the Azerbaijani army on Mount Murov.

CHALLENGING JOURNEY ON THE MOUNTAIN ROAD

Our journey to the front line, where the fighting was intense, began in the early morning. As we set out to mount Murov, we saw military vehicles carrying ammunition to the front line along the way. We’ve seen civilian displays of affection in the settlements where the soldiers passed by. After a journey of about 150 kilometers, we reached the mountainous road leading to the foothills of Mount Murov, which leads to the positions on the front. After introducing ourselves at 4 checkpoints here, we went along the path, which in most places only military vehicles can pass. After crossing the difficult 2-hour mountain road, we parked our car in a safe area and arrived at the positions of the Azerbaijani army on a 15-minute walk from the mountain.

GARDAS GREETINGS TO TURKEY

The Azerbaijani soldiers that we arrived with, were surprised that we had come to this point, and then when they heard that we had come from Turkey, they greeted them by saying, “Our Gardas are welcome.” We spoke to the heroes in their positions, who captured their critical points on strategically important Mount Murov by clearing them of Armenians. “We will expel Armenia from our own land with the prayers and support of the Turkish people of Azerbaijan and gardash. All Azerbaijanis have been dreaming of today for 30 years, we will not return without liberating Nagorno-Karabakh from occupation,” they said. “Hail to Turkey,” they said.

WE WITNESSED ARMENIAN CIVILIAN MASSACRES

In Azerbaijan, where we stayed for a month, we witnessed Armenia’s attacks on civilians, pain and sadness. The Armenian army, which was unable to resist the Azerbaijani army on the front line, abandoned its positions and fled, we witnessed it target civilian settlements. Civilians were at the target of rockets, missiles and bombs fired by Armenia. Armenia, which targeted homes, schools and mosques in Terter, Berde, Agdam, close to the front line, also attacked civilians in Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan, 100 kilometers from the front line. Guided missiles fired by Armenia hit buildings and homes inhabited by civilians in Ganja. Babies, who are only 3 months old, children, women and the elderly have been targeted by Armenian missiles. Armenia committed war crimes and massacred civilians in front of the world. He fired rockets at those who went to the cemetery to bury their bodies in Terter. The biggest answer to Armenia, which does not respect even the dead, was the Azerbaijani army, which achieved a new victory every day on the front line.

I WITNESSED VICTORY

Azerbaijan, which achieved success on the front and on the battlefield on its 44^th day of the war, declared its victory to the whole world. The departments(provinces) of Gabriel, Fuzuli, Gubadli, Agdam, Kelbajar, Lachin and Zangilan, which had been occupied by Armenia for 30 years, were now in Azerbaijan. And even the subject of folk songs, “the glorious flag of the Turk” began to wave in Karabakh. Shusha, which was much more than a city for Azerbaijan, was now under the control of Azerbaijan. Shusha, founded by Karabakh Khan Penahali in 1752, has many historical monuments. It is the birthplace of many distinguished people of Science and culture known worldwide. Shusha, considered the symbol city of Karabakh because of its historical and cultural riches and natural beauty, is known as the “cradle of Azerbaijani music” because of its famous composers and musicians. That Shusha was liberated from the occupation of Armenia 27 years later.

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THE COUNTRY THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE WAR: TURKEY

On the 44th day of the military operation launched by Azerbaijan to liberate its occupied territories, Turkey achieved a historic victory, while the country that changed the course of the war. Turkey’s domestic production unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) and armed unmanned aerial vehicles(AUAVs) were activated during the period when the clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia intensified on the front line. Turkish UAVs and Siha(Bayraktar TB2) used in Karabakh as a counter-attack after Armenian attacks destroyed Russian-made air defense systems belonging to Armenia. Air defense systems, tanks, ammunition depots and military targets belonging to Armenia were shot down by Turkish Sikhs in the form of point shots.

ARMENIAN ARMY ESCAPE BEGINS

The thaw in the Armenian army began with the introduction of drones and AUAV that Turkey gave to Azerbaijan. The Armenian army, whose area of operations was narrowed because it was constantly viewed from the air and every step they took was monitored, began to escape. Unable to receive logistical support, ammunition reinforcements could not be made, the connection to the front lines of Armenia was severed. Russian-made Osas used by the Armenian army were eliminated by Turkish-made UAVs and Sihas used by the Azerbaijani army. The transition of air dominance to the Azerbaijani army was the turning point of the war. The Azerbaijani army, which captured air dominance with UAVs and AUAVs from Turkey, also achieved great success from land.

THE WORLD SPOKE OF TURKISH SIKHS

After Syria, Libya, Iraq, Turkey’s success in UAV and UAUV, which changed the course of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, also sat on the agenda of the world. The success of the Turkish Sikhs in the United States and Europe, that is, in foreign media, “in Karabakh, the first UAUV war in history took place. The UAUV changed the course of the war with bombardments. The results were too heavy for the losing side,” he said. In comments in the German media, it was interpreted as” the Karabakh War, the first war won only by the Sikhs”. Analysis of how traditional weapons would remain dysfunctional in the face of the Sikhs was included. “Turkey has reached a very high technical level in this regard. Ankara has created a successful technology for many years while the necessity of UAUV is being discussed,” the statement said.

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“BALALAR” 30 YEA RS LATER IN KARABAKH

Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, corresponding to 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, 30 years ago. At that time, there was a lot of difference between Azerbaijan, which was forced to leave its territory, and today’s Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s trained armed forces, military strength, equipment, logistics, economy and energy to ensure their continuity were far superior to Armenia. And there was another very important detail that Armenia did not take into account. The Exiled Balalar(children) who left their lands from their mother’s lap in Karabakh, which they occupied 30 years ago, now formed the backbone of the Azerbaijani army.

THEY RETURNED TO THE EXILE LAND ON TOP OF THE TANK

Armenia’s attack on Nagorno-Karabakh in the 90s and the subsequent occupation of Azerbaijani territory had forced thousands of Families, Children and children to emigrate. 30 years after the occupation, babies who were forced to emigrate to their lands on the lap of their mothers that day were fighting to save their own lands from occupation on the front line in the Azerbaijani Army today. Exiled in cities in Karabakh, such as Shusha, Kelbajar, Aghdam and Fuzuli, which Armenia occupied 30 years ago, Balalar now grew up and most of them served in the Azerbaijani army. And that day came, and it was time to return to his own land, to the hearths of his father. Here are those Balas, 30 years later, back to their native land with tanks and cannons. “Our Bala(offspring), who were forced to leave their own land in the arms of their mothers, returned to their own land on a tank after 30 years,” he said.

MOTHERS TELL OF THEIR HONEY

Azerbaijani mothers, who fled and were exiled during the occupation of Armenia, told of their Bala, which returned to their native land after 30 years on a tank. Azize Mehdiyeva, who was forced to emigrate from Nagorno-Karabakh in 94 during the occupation of Armenia, said: “My 2 sons, who were in my arms that day, are fighting today in the army to take their own land. On that day, when we fell into the deserts(when we emigrated), one of my sons was 3 years old, and the other was one year old. Today, one is 29 and the other is 27. They became soldiers, now they fought and got their own land,” he said. Cemal Kamberov is one of the leading fighters in the Karabakh operation. Kamberov returned with victory to the town of Gabriel, which he left 27 years ago at the age of 7. “27 years later, I am in my own homeland,” Kamberov wrote in a photo he shared.

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WHO WON WHAT IN KARABAKH?

In addition to Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia were the winners, the victory in the 44-day war in Karabakh was Azerbaijan’s while the loser was Armenia and European countries, especially France, which patronized and supported it. If we detail who won what in Karabakh, we will achieve the following results.

– Azerbaijan received all 7 raions(provinces) in Nagorno-Karabakh, which have been occupied since 1993. Azerbaijan, which controlled 5 departments, including Shusha and Fuzuli, in the battle on the front, also annexed Lachin and Kelbajar to its territory under the agreement on the table.

– Azerbaijan’s important acquisition was its direct connection from land to Nakhchivan, which is an autonomous region associated with it. It also ensured the opening of a transport corridor with Turkey through Nakhchivan.

-Victory in Karabakh, which has been under occupation for many years, restored morale-motivation, unity and self-confidence in Azerbaijani society.

– 30 years ago, Azerbaijanis who were forced to emigrate, fleeing the persecution of Armenia in Karabakh, opened the way to return to their native land, Karabakh.

– While confidence in the army has increased in Azerbaijan, national feelings such as homeland and flag have been revived in the country.

TURKEY’S GAINS

– Turkey, which has been with Azerbaijan since the first day, has once again proved that it is one of the main actors of the region.

– After Syria and Libya, it managed to change the course of the war with domestic production UAVs and Siha.

– A Joint Surveillance Center with Russia to be established in Azerbaijan will be involved in overseeing the ceasefire with UAVs and other facilities.

-One of the most important achievements for Turkey was the opening of a road transport line from Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan via Armenia. Thus, Turkey’s access to Central Asia(Turkic republics) was opened by land and rail. In addition, an alternative line was formed to open Central Asia to Europe via Anatolia. The 160-kilometer railway between Turkey and Azerbaijan and the highway passing through a steep geography will be revived, which is one of the biggest advantages in terms of Turkey.

RUSSIA IN THE CAUCASUS AGAIN

– Moscow has once again shown that he is one of the strongest quarterbacks in the Caucasus.

– Russia, which opened the way for Azerbaijan by not responding to Armenia’s military aid requests, forced Azerbaijan and Armenia to sit around a table at the last point.

– With this agreement, Moscow had the opportunity to deploy troops to the region years later under the name of a peacekeeping force.

– Russia, along with the ceasefire, also oversaw the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the transport line connecting Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan.

– Russia’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh has become permanent.

LOSING ARMENIA

– Armenia was the loser of the war in Karabakh. Armenia, which was disbanded on the front line and could not resist the Azerbaijani army, was forced to flee the territory it occupied after 30 years.

– His army was disbanded, hundreds of soldiers escaped from the front line. He suffered great losses, and hundreds of Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner. It suffered a major blow to the destroyed air defense system.

-About 200 thousand Armenians who emigrated to Karabakh, where they were forced to retreat, were left alone with the problem.

– The war they caused brought a great economic burden. As the country suffered a political crisis, its economy collapsed.