Azerbaijan’s State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons registered 1,443 people who were released from captivity and hostage during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Eldar Samadov, deputy head of a working group of the State Commission, told Trend.
He noted that last year inquiries were sent to some regions to clarify information on persons released from captivity and hostage during the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The responses were analyzed and the data was included into the relevant databases.
“As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that six Azerbaijani citizens were held hostage and released during intensive military operations. As of Dec. 1, 2017, 1,443 people were registered at the State Commission as those released from captivity and hostage,” he said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.