Today marks another anniversary of the Tovuz battles.
Modern.az reminds that six years have passed since the battles that ended with the victory of the Azerbaijani Army.
Starting from noon on July 12, 2020, the Armenian armed forces grossly violated the ceasefire in the direction of Tovuz region of the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border and shelled the positions of the Azerbaijani Army. The enemy then continued to shell our positions with large-caliber weapons and heavy artillery.
On July 12, movements of armored vehicles and personnel belonging to the Armenian armed forces were observed. On the same day, the enemy resorted to a large-scale provocation on the state border. However, this provocation of the enemy was prevented, and their strongholds and hundreds of servicemen were destroyed.
On the first day of the Tovuz battles, while preventing the enemy's provocation, 3 servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army - Sergeant Vugar Sadigov, Senior Soldier Elshad Mammadov, and Soldier Khayyam Dashdamirov - rose to the peak of martyrdom, and 5 more were wounded. One of the wounded soldiers later died from his injuries. During the battles, the personnel of the Armenian army suffered numerous losses.
The tension in the Tovuz direction continued on the night of July 13. In the night battles, which involved the use of artillery, mortars, and tanks, the enemy's stronghold, artillery installations, vehicle equipment, and personnel in the military unit area were destroyed by the precise fire of the Azerbaijani Army. However, the enemy tried to hide its losses. On the same day, heavy artillery installations were reactivated in the Tovuz direction. During the battle, Armenian artillery also shelled the villages of Dondar Gushchu and Aghdam in Tovuz with cannons.
The Tovuz battles continued on July 14. Thus, starting from the morning of July 14, the enemy shelled the villages of Aghdam and Alibeyli in Tovuz region with large-caliber weapons and artillery installations. As a result of the enemy's provocative attack, Major General Polad Hashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev of the Azerbaijani Army, as well as 5 more servicemen were martyred while repelling the attack. As a result of the Armenian attacks, Aziz Azizov, a 76-year-old resident of Aghdam village in the region, was killed.
In the evening of the same day, the battles subsided, and relative calm prevailed on the front. Although clashes subsided on July 15, battles resumed on the morning of July 16. On that day, one serviceman of the Azerbaijani Army was martyred. A large number of enemy servicemen and equipment were destroyed.
The Tovuz battles ended on July 17 with the victory of the Azerbaijani Army, and there was no territorial loss. In the battles, 12 servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army - Major General Polad Hashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzayev, Major Namig Ahmadov, Major Anar Novruzov, Senior Lieutenant Rashad Mahmudov, Warrant Officer Ilgar Zeynalov, Warrant Officer Yashar Babayev, Sergeant Vugar Sadigov, extended active military service serviceman, Senior Soldier Elshad Mammadov, extended active military service serviceman, Soldier Elchin Mustafazade, extended active military service serviceman, Soldier Nazim Ismayilov, and Soldier Khayyam Dashdamirov - heroically became martyrs.
During the Tovuz battles, mass rallies were held with large crowds to support the Azerbaijani Army. On July 14, a multi-thousand strong support march for the Armed Forces and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief took place in Baku. In the march, the people highly declared their solidarity with and support for the Azerbaijani Army and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Tens of thousands of young people, responding to President Ilham Aliyev's call, applied to the departments of the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription where they were registered, expressing their desire to voluntarily participate in the battles.
Thus, the 5-day Tovuz battles, which ended in victory, paved the way for the liberation of Azerbaijani lands that had been under occupation for many years. In August, Gurgen Alaverdyan, born in 1989, a senior lieutenant and commander of the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces, was identified and detained as a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani Army.
By decrees signed by President Ilham Aliyev on December 9, 2020, Polad Hashimov and Ilgar Mirzayev were awarded the title of National Hero of Azerbaijan.
To eliminate the damage caused to the civilian population in the villages of Aghdam, Dondar Gushchu, Vahidli, Alibeyli, Yukhari Oysuzlu, and Ashaghi Oysuzlu in Tovuz region as a result of intensive shelling by the Armenian armed forces, 1 million manats were allocated from the President's reserve fund, provided for in the 2020 state budget of Azerbaijan, to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The houses and other facilities destroyed by the enemy in Tovuz were restored.
Starting from September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani Army launched counter-offensive operations against the enemy's provocations. As a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, Azerbaijani lands that had been under occupation for nearly 30 years were liberated.
On September 19, 2023, local anti-terrorist measures were launched in the region to ensure the provisions of the trilateral statement, prevent large-scale provocations committed in the Karabakh economic region, disarm and withdraw the formations of the Armenian armed forces from our territories, neutralize their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of civilians returning to the liberated territories, as well as civilian workers and our servicemen involved in restoration and construction works, and restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Within the framework of the measures that lasted a little over 23 hours, the frontline and deep positions and long-term firing points of the Armenian armed forces, as well as their combat vehicles and military facilities, were neutralized with the use of high-precision weapons. With this, the constitutional order was restored in all territories of Azerbaijan.
