Azerbaijani forces have taken control of the strategically key city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh where fighting with Armenia has raged for more than a month, the country's president said Sunday.
In a televised address to the nation, President Ilham Aliyev said, "Shusha is ours Karabakh is ours, using the Azerbaijani version of the city's name".
Shusha is of significant military value because it sits on heights about 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of the region's capital of Stepanakert and lies along the main road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
8 November will eternally go down in history as Glorious Victory Day. We have returned to Shusha. Shusha is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Azerbaijan, I felicitate you!
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) November 8, 2020
Nagorno-Karabakh is within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. The latest outbreak of fighting started on Sept. 27 and has left hundreds if not thousands dead.
Aliyev vowed to continue the fighting until Armenia withdraws from the territory.
