Last refugee camps abolished

The last three refugee camps established in Azerbaijan’s central Saatly and Sabirabad districts were abolished on Monday.

The displaced persons settled in these camps will be moved to a new settlement constructed in the Zobujul settlement of Fuzuli District, the State Committee on Work with Refugees and IDPs said. A total of 2,150 IDPs mainly from Jabrayil and Fuzuli districts had been settled in the refugee camps.

All suitable conditions have been provided for IDPs in the new settlement, as one-, two-, three- and four-room apartments were built and additional yards and arable land allocated. The settlement was supplied with gas and electricity.

About one million Azerbaijanis, who were displaced from Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and adjacent districts in the wake of the Armenian aggression, had been settled in refugee camps established in different regions of Azerbaijan. The IDPs were settled in new settlements constructed on funds allocated from the State Oil Fund (SOFAR).

During the 2003 presidential elections, President Aliyev had vowed to abolish the refugee camps throughout the country.*