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Farid Shafiyev: Urbicide in Karabakh was systematically carried out after military operations

20 May 2026 17:06 (UTC +04:00)

The urbicide that took place in Karabakh, differing from other examples, was carried out systematically after the military operations. The goal was not only the destruction of cities, but also to prevent the return of the Azerbaijani population to those territories and erase the cultural memory and historical identity of the region, Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Board of the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), said during a panel session on urbicide and its consequences organized by the AIR Center within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.

The AIR Center chairman, referring to the report of the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission of 2005, noted that Aghdam, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan and other districts were completely destroyed, settlements were looted and even construction materials were dismantled and taken away: “The main indicators of urbicide are physical destruction, ethnic cleansing and changing the cultural identity of cities. It was particularly stated that Lachin and Kalbajar had strategic importance for Armenia and that a settlement policy was implemented in these territories. Urbicide is also not ‘collateral damage,’ but a governance strategy implemented for political and ideological purposes, while the destruction of urban spaces serves the establishment of new forms of control and authority.”