Swedish travelers visit Aghali village of Azerbaijan’s Zangilan district

A group of international travelers from the Swedish 'Club100' organization have today visited the Aghali village of Zangilan district, liberated by valiant Azerbaijani army, as part of their visit to Azerbaijan’s Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur regions, Azernews reports.

The Swedish travelers were accompanied by the employee of the Special Representative Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Zangilan district, which is included in East Zangezur economic region.

The visitors were informed about the history of Zangilan district, which was occupied by Armenia for 27 years. All 5 settlements and 79 villages of the district as well as the city center were completely destroyed, and its people were displaced from their homeland and became internally displaced people (IDPs). Moreover, the residences, historical cultural and religious monuments were also destroyed during the occupation.

Armenia has also committed severe ecocide in the formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Several thousands hectares of forests have been destroyed, 300-year-old plane as well as walnut and oak trees cut down and taken away.

As a result of the counter-offensive operation dubbed as "Iron Fist" launched by the Azerbaijan Army on September 27, 2020, Zangilan district was liberated from the Armenian occupation.

Following the liberation of the district, the "Great Return" program is being successfully carried out by Azerbaijan, which aims to return the former IDPs to their native lands. A total of 86 families (420 people) have been so far relocated to the Aghali village of Zangilan district as part of the "Great Return" program.

The travelers were also informed about the rapid progress of the construction of Horadiz-Aghband railway and Ahmadbayli-Horadiz-Minjivan-Aghband highway passing through the territory of Zangilan. It was noted that the Zangilan International Airport, the construction of which started in April 2021, was inaugurated with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Swedish travelers also familiarized themselves with the necessary infrastructure created in the village.