Suffering a bitter defeat on the battlefields of the 44-day-long Patriotic War ever since it started on 27 September, Armenians resorted to provocations.

To make up for their losses, the military-political leadership of Armenia pounded our cities and villages, located away from the frontline, with heavy artillery and rocket strikes.


Sitting close to the frontline, Terter District was one of the places that was heavily stricken by Armenian artillery and missiles. The first strike was launched on the second say of the war; on 28 September, the enemy's forces shelled the district center, the city of Terter, and the town of Shikharkhi, built for Azerbaijani refugees of the first Karabakh war. The bombardment killed four civilians: Mehman Soviet Aliyev (b. 1977), Sabit Usub Asadov (b. 1981), Elshan Asif Abbasov (b. 1987) and Khalig Asif Abbasov (b. 1981); many people got wounded. Various facilities and residential structures across the district sustained heavy damage.

The subsequent bombardments of Terter killed Ayna Muhammadali Mekhtiyeva ( b. 1965) on 29 September; Shahin Makhmud Ibrahimov (b. 1987) and Muzaffar Ali Aliyev (b. 1971) on 30 September; Zabil Muhammad Hasanov (b. 1983) on 1 October; Hasan Asif Mammadov (b. 1981) on 6 October; and Adavat Zahid Akhundov (b. 1969) on 14 October.

The biggest number of civilian casualties was recorded on 15 October, when Armenian military forces used heavy artillery to pound Terter's municipal cemetery; the shells killed Vasif Bakhadur Rustamov (b. 1960), Parviz Novruz Orujov (b. 1989), Iskandar Elmar Amirov (b. 1967) and Shakir Khasay Zamanov (b. 1988); four other people were wounded and subsequently admitted to hospital. This barbaric act destroyed several tombs and damaged vehicles belonging to people who attended the funeral.
Never ceasing to pursue terrorist activity, Armenian forces killed on 20 October Jamilli village dwellers Anar Tofig Guliyev (b. 1985) and Anar Rasul Isakhli (b. 1997); on 24 October, an Armenian shell killed Orkhan Rahbar Ismayilzada (b. 2004), a Kabirli village dweller.

The bombardments of Terter District killed in total 17 and wounded over 60 non-combatants; thousands of locals had to flee their homes and move to neighboring districts.

According to the available data, from the beginning of the war and until 29 October 2020 Armenian military forces launched over 16 thousand artillery, tank and Grad shells and 21 banned rockets on Terter District. On some days, over 2,000 shells were fired daily. These bombardments wiped out 133 houses; partial damage was dealt to 873 buildings, 14 schools, 3 hospitals and 18 government facilities among them. In total, over 4 thousand civil facilities sustained damage as a result.

Using heavy artillery and ballistic missiles against Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Agdam, Terter, Qabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other localities and districts, Armenian armed forces would grossly violate the norms and principles of international law, the Geneva Convention of 1949 and Additional Protocols thereto, as well as judgements and resolutions of UN Security Council. The Armenian military transgressions killed a total of 93 non-combatants, 12 children and 27 women among them; 454 civilians were wounded; 12 292 residential and non-residential facilities were damaged, as well as 288 vehicles and 1018 farms.

Apart from civilian casualties, Armenian bombardments also dealt damage to residential houses, industrial facilities, schools and a hospital, prompting a massive evacuation.

Some influential international organizations denounced Armenian military forces for violation of laws of war and rocket and artillery strikes on towns and villages that had resulted in civilian casualties.

The General's Prosecutor Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan stated that it would do its best to exposure Armenia as an occupying and aggressor country on a global scale, and appeal, pursuant to local and international law, to international authorities so that the culprit is brought to accountability and suffer the full penalty of sanctions.

We firmly believe that justice will soon triumph, and Armenian butchers will be brought to fair punishment for barbarous slaughter of peaceful people in Ganja and other towns and regions.

Victims of Armenian terror in Terter:
Source: General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan

7 October 2021


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