Azerbaijan marks 103rd anniversary of Baku's liberation

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan on Wednesday marked the 103rd anniversary of the liberation of Baku, the country’s capital, from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation.

"The liberation of Baku by the Caucasian Islamic Army under the leadership of Nuru Pasha on Sept. 15, 1918 is a special day that reflects the historical brotherhood, unity and support of #Azerbaijan and #Turkey in a difficult day. We remember our martyrs with deep respect!" Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov wrote on Twitter.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Ankara on Twitter said that on the occasion of the 103rd anniversary of Baku's liberation from "Dashnak-Bolshevik occupation", military parades were held in the main streets and squares of Baku with the slogan "Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood is eternal and unshakable."

Also, marking the day, Azerbaijan held a military march in Shusha, also known as the pearl of Karabakh, which was liberated last year from nearly three decades of occupation by Armenian forces.

On Sept. 15, 1918, an elite Ottoman force - the Caucasian Islamic Army under the leadership of the 29-year-old Nuri Pasha (Killigil) - was sent by then-Minister of War Enver Pasha to what is today Azerbaijan in the closing months of the World War I in response to a plea from the region's people.

Over 1,100 Caucasian Islamic Army soldiers together with the Azerbaijani people lost their lives for this cause and liberated Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation.

The liberation of Baku at the time paved the way for the transfer of the capital from Ganja and ensured the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, providing the basis for its modern-day boundaries.