How can one justify the current state of the city of Aghdam, nicknamed the "Hiroshima of the Caucasus"? Nothing remains of what was built there by the Azerbaijanis, says an article by Guillaume Origoni, published in the French online edition Slate.fr.
According to Report, the author of the article, who visited the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, spoke about the urbicide committed there.
"One of the world's most polluted territories in the world ... Deserted towns, villages, houses in ruins and riddled with mines flicker on both sides of the bus windows. Once deprived of their inhabitants, the houses were gradually destroyed, and nature restored its rights to these places," the author of the article, who visited Aghdam, Shusha and Fuzuli said, sharing his impressions of the trip.
"The territory regained by Azerbaijan should be integrated with the rest of the country as soon as possible. Given the energy and resources involved, there is no doubt that this goal will be achieved within a few months. But for now, Shusha is inhabited only by workers and technicians who replace demining teams," he notes, adding that the liberated territories are being actively restored.
"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev wants to do it quickly and efficiently: large-scale work is being carried out in the city of Shusha and throughout the region," said Origoni.
The author also talked to Adalat Hasanov, a doctor of the forensic medicine department in Baku, who explained that the number of missing persons of Azerbaijani nationality amounts to 3,890 - 3,190 soldiers and 700 civilians never returned home after the First Karabakh War (1988-1994).
According to Hasanov, the search for bodies and bone fragments in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan could prove that war crimes have been perpetrated by the Armenian army.
Guillaume Origoni also shared his impressions of visiting the forensic laboratory in Baku: "Despite bright lighting, the mood is grim. When we enter the room, a dozen lab workers are busy around the skeletons. 'These bodies are the illustration of Armenian barbarism,' we are told."