Azerbaijan has agreed to postpone its planned reacquisition of territory ceded by Armenia under the Russian-brokered cease fire.
Despite its compromise, the Azerbaijan government has slammed the actions of ethnic Armenian civilians leaving the area, who are reportedly burning their own houses and destroying infrastructure.
The cease fire, which put an end to nearly six weeks of violent skirmishes, forced Armenia to give up occupied territories in the Nagorno-Karabakh region outside of its borders. Since the end of the war between the two nations in 1994, ethnic Armenian groups have occupied areas internationally recognized as Azerbaijan territory.
After the cease fire was signed, Russian forces assisted Azerbaijan troops in reclaiming their territories. The first to be reclaimed was Kebajar, which was turned over to Azerbaijan on Sunday.
In response to requests from Armenian officials, Azerbaijan agreed to delay its reclamation until Nov. 25. Azerbaijan officials said it agreed with the request given the unfavorable weather conditions that made it difficult for Armenian forces and civilians to immediately vacate the area.
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said he had received disturbing reports of Armenian residents setting their houses on fire to make them unusable. Some residents reportedly destroyed and vandalized local establishments and infrastructure.
"Armenians are damaging the environment and civilian objects. Environmental damage, ecological terror must be prevented," Hajiyev said.
Hajiyev reiterated that the occupation of the territories in the Kelbajar region was "illegal" and all residents in the area must be evicted. His statements have raised concerns among residents over the fate of Armenian religious and cultural sites in the area, which includes the Armenian Apostolic Church monastery.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has assured residents that all cultural sites and Christian churches will not be destroyed and will be protected. He added that Christian Azerbaijanis who will occupy the area will continue to take care of the facilities after they are vacated.
The majority of Armenians are Christian, while about 95% of Azerbaijanis are Muslim. The Azerbaijan government previously accused Armenians who took control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of desecrating Muslim sites during their decades of occupation.
