Sarbaz.kz

Azerbaijan conducted a military parade in Hankendi, also known as the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, referred to as Stepanakert by Armenians, as reported by President Ilham Aliyev's press service, as conveyed by Sarbaz.kz.

"In the multi-century history of the Azerbaijani people, there has been no victory like this. The Shusha operation, all the other military operations that we conducted within 44 days, the courage of our military personnel – this is a heroic epic. Over 44 days, Azerbaijani soldiers and officers, defeating the enemy on the battlefield and liberating our cities and villages, demonstrated true heroism," stated President Ilham Aliyev.

Units from the Ministry of Defence, Interior Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Border Service, State Security Service, and the army's special forces paraded on Hankendi's main square. The parade audience was shown captured military equipment taken by Azerbaijan from the military of the unrecognized republic in September of this year.

The parade concluded with a procession of vehicles bearing a shield made from Armenian license plates and vehicles. Above them, the inscription "Victory" was displayed. This is a direct reference to a similar wall in Kelbajar. Armenians covered the wall with license plates that were taken from Azerbaijanis in 1993.

The parade was commanded by the First Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Army, General-Colonel Kerim Veliyev, a recipient of the "Zafar" and "Karabakh" orders. The parade formations of the Armed Forces marched past the tribune under the state flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the flag raised in the city of Shusha, which has become a symbol of victory.