Operation Horadiz
History
History
-------

### Background

The Armenians, who captured [Gubadly](/wiki/Gubadly "Gubadly") in late August 1993, declared a [ceasefire](/wiki/Ceasefire "Ceasefire") because they needed to regroup and had to wait for new weapons and troops to arrive from [Armenia](/wiki/Armenia "Armenia"). In late October, Armenian troops quickly captured Horadiz on the Azerbaijani\-Iranian border, cutting off [Zangilan](/wiki/Zangilan "Zangilan")'s connection to Azerbaijani territory. Zangilan finally fell in 29 October 1993 into Armenian hands.

In December 1993, Armenian armed forces attempted to move east of [Fuzuli](/wiki/F%C3%BCzuli_%28city%29 "Füzuli (city)"), but encountered unexpected resistance and were forced to retreat. After that, the Azerbaijani army attacked in three directions. On December 15, Azerbaijani military immediately attacked in five directions — [Fuzuli District](/wiki/Fuzuli_District "Fuzuli District"), [Khojavend](/wiki/Khojavend_District "Khojavend District"), [Agdam](/wiki/Agdam_District "Agdam District"), [Mardakert](/wiki/Mardakert_District_%28NKAO%29 "Mardakert District (NKAO)") and [Kalbajar](/wiki/Kalbajar_District "Kalbajar District"). The attack on north\-east of [Nagorno\-Karabakh](/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh "Nagorno-Karabakh") forced the Armenians to leave a number of settlements in Mardakert district. The main blows of Azerbaijani troops to Horadiz came from [Beylagan District](/wiki/Beylagan_District "Beylagan District"). The battle had spread to the steppe. Under these conditions, Azerbaijani units destroyed the Armenian defenses and began to advance inside the Fuzuli under cannon fire and missile artillery. In early January 1994, Azerbaijanis seized 11 villages and 40 kilometers of Azerbaijani\-Iranian border.

### Battle

According to the Azerbaijani side, on January 5, the 702nd Brigade, which took part in the Horadiz operation, captured 3 tanks, 1 [Shturm\-S](/wiki/9K114_Shturm "9K114 Shturm"), 6 artillery pieces, 6 artillery trailers, about 10 vehicles, a large number of weapons and ammunition. The enemy retreated, suffering heavy casualties and leaving their dead on the battlefield. Captain Elkhan Zulfugarov of the 702nd Regiment, who died in combat at [Shukyurbeyli](/wiki/%C5%9E%C3%BCk%C3%BCrb%C9%99yli%2C_Fizuli "Şükürbəyli, Fizuli") near Horadiz, was posthumously awarded the title of [National Hero of Azerbaijan](/wiki/National_Hero_of_Azerbaijan "National Hero of Azerbaijan").

On January 6 or January 8 the 702nd Regiment broke through Armenian resistance, fought and entered Horadiz, captured the settlement, Horadiz Railway Station and [Khodaafarin Bridges](/wiki/Khodaafarin_Bridges "Khodaafarin Bridges"), an important strategic target on the [Aras](/wiki/Aras_%28river%29 "Aras (river)"). The operation was led by Shair Ramaldanov. Horadiz was an important crossroads of Jabrayil, Gubadly, Zangilan districts in the west and Fuzuli in the north.

[Afghan Mujahideen](/wiki/Mujahideen "Mujahideen"), who arrived in the fall of 1993, also took part in the Azerbaijani attack. According to some reports, the training of the Mujahideen was higher than that of regular Azerbaijani army, and they played a key role in the capture of Horadiz by Azerbaijani army.


What impact does the capture of Horadiz have on regional politics?