Over $5m allocated to Azerbaijani civilians suffering from Armenian aggression

By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has allocated over 9m AZN ($5m) to compensate damages to its citizens who suffered from Armenia's aggression during the six-week war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region from September 27 to November 10.

On December 17, the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers signed an order to fulfill the Azerbaijani presidential order dated December 14, 2020, on additional measures to compensate for damages caused to civilians as a result of aggression of the Armenain armed forces against Azerbaijani territories.

Under the order,  9,068,128 manats ($5,334,192) that were originally calculated on the basis of the lists submitted by the relevant working groups, will be financed from the 2020 Azerbaijani state budget's reserve fund.

The funds will be transferred to the relevant treasury accounts of the executive structures of the regions that suffered damages.

The Finance Ministry and the relevant local executive structures were instructed, on the basis of the lists submitted to the State Commission by the working groups, to transfer within 10 days the funds intended for the civilians to the bank accounts (including bank cards) of the owners of residential buildings or their legal representatives and submit a report on the results to the Cabinet of Ministers.

The initial assistance does not include payment for damages to vehicles.

The relevant working groups revealed that 8,221 real estate facilities were damaged. Among them some 300 private houses, 75 facilities and 10 apartment buildings were completely destroyed. Some 222 vehicles were damaged, 21 of them became completely unusable. Some 989 heads of cattle were killed.

As part of the implementation of the Azerbaijani president's relevant order it is planned to pay at the preliminary stage 3,151,500 manats, i.e. $1,853,823 (6,000 manats i.e. $3,529 per family and 1,500 manats i.e. $882 per family member) to  258 families whose houses were destroyed. Meanwhile, 5,885 families whose houses were damaged will get 5,885,000 manats, i.e. $3,461,764 (1,000 manats i.e. $588 per family).

The owners of real estate that cannot be restored or renovated will be provided with housing in new buildings built on the basis of modern projects. The property which must be restored and repaired will be repaired and restored at the state expense.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered agreement on November 10 to end the war and work toward a comprehensive solution. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops after the six-week-long clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The signed agreement has obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since early 1990s.