Exactly two years ago at this time, the Azerbaijani army began a local anti-terrorist operation to restore state sovereignty.
On September 19, 2023, at about 11:45, the Ministry of Defense announced that formations of the Armenian armed forces in the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily deployed, fired on the positions of the Azerbaijani Army stationed in the Aghdam district, using mortars and various caliber weapons, resulting in two Azerbaijani Army servicemen being wounded.
The Azerbaijani army began the local anti-terrorist operation at 13:10, and by 13:22, the Ministry of Defense had already issued an official statement about it.
The anti-terrorist operation, conducted under the personal supervision of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, ended in a short period, just 23 hours and 50 minutes, that is, on September 20 at 13:00, lasting less than a day.
The operation involved some units of the Land Forceschr("39") commando, mechanized and motorized rifle units, certain groups of the Air Force, Navy and Special Forces, as well as a limited number of personnel and combat equipment from rocket-artillery and engineering-fortification units.
The positions that the enemy had built and fortified over a long period were skillfully breached by our units involved in the operation, thanks to their high professionalism.
Tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, military aviation and electronic warfare means, as well as the effective application and efficient use of unmanned aerial vehicles in executing the assigned combat tasks played a major role in the successful outcome of the operation.
Army units did not enter residential areas and did not come into contact with the ethnic Armenian civilian population. To ensure that residential areas and their inhabitants were not harmed, Internal Troops forces moving behind the units participating in the operation isolated the civilian population from the armed conflict. No strikes were carried out against civilian infrastructure, population, or residential areas.
On September 20, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation. The head of state announced to the people that Azerbaijanchr("39")s sovereignty had been restored as a result of the successful completion of local anti-terrorist measures. Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev noted that once again, Azerbaijani soldiers and officers demonstrated both high professionalism and high moral qualities.
In his address to the nation, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized, "Unfortunately, we had martyrs during anti-terror measures. May Allah rest the souls of our martyrs in peace! We have wounded soldiers and officers. May Allah grant recovery to them. They sacrificed their lives for the Motherland, justice, and Azerbaijanchr("39")s sovereignty. Their blessed memory will live forever in our hearts."
