Memorial Day (Azerbaijan)

For other uses, see Memorial Day (disambiguation).

The Memorial Day in Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycanda Anım Günü) is a public holiday in Azerbaijan for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, officially labelled as The Patriotic War. Established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan, dated 2 December 2020, the holiday is held on 27 September, the day when the war began.

Memorial Day
Official name	Azerbaijani: Azərbaycanda Anım Günü
Also called	Memorial Day in Azerbaijan
Observed by	Azerbaijan
Type	National
Significance	for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
Date	27 September
Next time	27 September 2023 (2023-09-27)
Frequency	Annual
Related to	2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

During the war, the government of Azerbaijan did not reveal the number of its military casualties.^[1] On 3 December, Azerbaijan stated that 2,783 of its soldiers had been killed during the war.^[2]

History

Background

Main article: 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

 

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, addressing the nation on the morning of 27 September 2020, the day the war began.

On 27 September 2020, clashes broke out in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is de facto controlled by the self-proclaimed and unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, but de jure part of Azerbaijan.^[3] Azerbaijani forces first advanced in Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts, taking their respective administrative centres.^[4] From there, they proceeded towards Hadrut.^[5] Azerbaijani troops began to advance more intensively after the fall of Hadrut around 15 October, and Armenians began to retreat, with Azerbaijanis then taking control of Zangilan and Qubadli.^[6] Launching an offensive for Lachin,^[7] they also penetrated into Shusha District through its forests and mountain passes.^[8][9]

Following the capture of Shusha, the second-largest settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, ending all hostilities in the area from 00:00, 10 November 2020 Moscow Time.^[10][11][12] Under the agreement, the warring sides will keep control of their currently held areas within Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia will return the surrounding territories it occupied in 1994 to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan will also gain land access to its Nakhchivan exclave bordering Turkey and Iran.^[13] Approximately 2,000 Russian soldiers will be deployed as peacekeeping forces along the Lachin corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for a mandate of at least five years.^[14]

During the war, the government of Azerbaijan did not reveal the number of its military casualties.^[1] On 3 December, Azerbaijan stated that 2,783 of its soldiers had been killed during the war.^[2]

Institution

On 2 December 2020, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree on the establishment of Memorial Day as a public holiday in Azerbaijan. The day of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war began, 27 September, was to be commemorated in Azerbaijan as the Memorial Day, for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the war.^[15]

See also

• Khojaly Genocide Day
• Victory Day (Azerbaijan)
• Public holidays in Azerbaijan

References

1. "Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict: Casualties mount in Nagorno-Karabakh battle". British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 September 2020. from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
2. "Azerbaijan says 2,783 soldiers killed in Nagorno-Karabakh clashes". Al Jazeera. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
3. "Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh". BBC. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
4. Kucera, Joshua (29 September 2020). "As fighting rages, what is Azerbaijan's goal?". EurasiaNet. from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020. The Azerbaijani offensive against Armenian forces is its most ambitious since the war between the two sides formally ended in 1994.
5. Avaliani, Dimitri (12 October 2020). "Karabakh: the battle for Hadrut and why it's important". Jam News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
6. Aksenov, Pavel (11 November 2020). "Почему Азербайджан выиграл войну в Карабахе? Отвечают военные эксперты" [Why did Azerbaijan win the war in Karabakh? Military experts answer]. BBC Russian Service (in Russian). from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
7. Roblin, Sebastien (26 October 2020). "Despite Ceasefire, Fate Of The Nagorno-Karabakh May Turn On The Lachin Corridor". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
8. Hakobyan, Tatul (17 November 2020). "Շուշին. պատերազմի իմ չգրված նոթատետրից" [Shushi. from my unwritten notebook of war]. CivilNet. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
9. "Azerbaijan says key Karabakh town captured, Armenia says it didn't happen". France24. 8 November 2020. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
10. "Путин выступил с заявлением о прекращении огня в Карабахе" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
11. "Пашинян заявил о прекращении боевых действий в Карабахе" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
12. "Nagorno-Karabakh: Russia deploys peacekeeping troops to region". BBC News. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
13. Kramer, Andrew E. (10 November 2020). "Facing Military Debacle, Armenia Accepts a Deal in Nagorno-Karabakh War". The New York Times.
14. "Deal Struck to End Nagorno-Karabakh War". The Moscow Times. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
15. "Hər il sentyabrın 27-si Azərbaycanda Anım Günü kimi qeyd olunacaq". BBC Azerbaijani Service (in Azerbaijani). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.