In recent years, Azerbaijan has made significant efforts to resettle families displaced by the conflict in Artsakh. According to Elchim Yusubov, the special representative of the President of Azerbaijan in Stepanakert, over 3,000 citizens currently reside in the city. These include employees of state institutions and individuals engaged in business.
In addition to this, there are plans to open 37 more facilities in Khankendi, with the expectation that the number of residents will increase following the opening of the Karabakh University. However, despite these efforts, there is still uncertainty surrounding the current population of Artsakh. No official statistics are available as no one knows for sure how many people currently live in Artsakh.
This uncertainty is due to a lack of reliable data or information about what happened during and after Azerbaijan’s military aggression on September 19-20, 2023. As a result, many people who fled from Artsakh have sought refuge elsewhere. In fact, according to reports from December of last year, only 25 individuals were assisted by the Red Cross in establishing contact with their relatives in Armenia or abroad.
Despite this challenge, Baku continues to work towards resettling families and rebuilding its region with its “Great Return” program. The program aims to resettle 34,500 families in Karabakh and “Eastern Zangezur” by 2027 and provides funding for building apartments and individual residential structures for these families.
Overall, it remains uncertain what will happen next for those who have been displaced by conflict but it is clear that Baku is determined to help them find a new home and start rebuilding their lives once again.
