They conquered the withered vineyards and left behind the burnt corpses of the tanks so that the Azerbaijani flag could be hoisted’ on a barren hill on the edge of Nagorno Karabakh.
Fighting
erupted three weeks ago between ethnic Armenian Christians and Muslim
Azerbaijan over blood-curdling tensions in the mountains, both of which are
part of their homeland.
Azerbaijan
has spent a few days accelerating its military successes, which have fueled the
military's move.
"If
they do not leave, we will pursue them like dogs," President Ilham Aliyev
said on the occasion of a new ceasefire on Sunday. Both sides accused the other
of breaking up immediately.
On
Twitter, Aliyev lists cities that were recaptured’ by his troops for the first
time since the end of the 1994 war in which 30,000 people were killed and left
the area - Azerbaijanis. Horror - In the hands of separatists.
One
of these cities is Jabrayil.
Yet
it is not uncommon for him to be trapped’ in Azerbaijan's occupied territories
by dividing Nagorno-Karabakh into an unjust territory, but no trace of him
remains.
The
valley descending down the hill with the flag contains a few sketches of
suspicious bushes and brick walls that have been blown up’ by rival forces for
generations.
-
'Fight to the last drop of blood'.
Gabriel's
solitary structure is a mountain-like monument equipped with moving canals
erected by Russia to promote "friendship and inter-ethnic peace."
A
soldier in a machine gun climbed to hoist the Azerbaijani flag after a group of
reporters gained access to a tightly controlled press tour on recaptured lands.
"Our
enemy must know that Azerbaijani soldiers will fight for their last drop of
blood to protect their motherland - and will sacrifice their lives if
necessary."
"As
we liberate our occupied territories one by one, we are getting discouraged,
and we are getting closer to a great victory."
That
Aliyev's army wanted to show its hold on the uninhabited hill that had left
behind the trauma of Azerbaijan's 1988-1994 war.
It
ended with Azerbaijan losing both Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas,
such as Gabriel and the nearby district of Fuzuli, along the Iranian border.
They
provide access to the southern gates of Nagorno-Karabakh and its capital, Stepanakert.
-
Heaps of bricks -
Azerbaijan
is trying to retake the region beyond its southern and northern regions.
Most
of its military successes have come in the border area of the conflict zone.
The
exchange of mortar and artillery fire at the northern tip around Tartar is
almost disputed’ and residents have to spend most of their time sheltering in
the basement.
But
in exhaustion, the Azerbaijani men raised their fists in victory and easily
spotted smoking on the country's road to Gabriel.
Tank
guns and artillery pieces were still trained’ in the mountains, but the
soldiers who handled them sat around the campfire or wasted time in the fields.
Wooden
sticks are tied’ to dry fields that once hold the foot of a lush grape behind
them.
Stacks
of bricks above the shoulders suggested the shape of houses that once paved the
road.
Habilov
was struggling to remember the last time someone lived in these valleys or how
many people called Gabriel their home.
There
are camps on the front lines of Azerbaijan for families who have been forced’
to leave.
"We
have recaptured the ruins," Habilov told reporters before sunset in the
Caucasus Mountains.
"But
we are also claiming our territorial integrity," he said.
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