Battle of Kalbajar

The Battle of Kalbajar took place in March and April 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It resulted in the capture of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan by Armenian military forces.

Kalbajar lies outside the contested enclave of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO). The offensive was the first time Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh had advanced beyond the boundaries of the enclave (besides the capture of Lachin in 1992). Kalbajar District, located between Armenia and the western border of the former NKAO, was composed of several dozen villages and its provincial capital, also named Kalbajar. The Armenian side launched an attack from four directions, including Armenia proper. After initial heavy resistance, the Azerbaijani defence quickly collapsed and the provincial capital fell on April 3, 1993. Armenian forces captured an area of more than 1,900 square kilometres, establishing a second overland link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

As a result of the battle, an estimated 60,000 Kurdish and Azerbaijani civilians were displaced. Civilians fled Kalbajar in April through mountains still covered in snow. Refugees reported that hundreds of people froze to death attempting to flee. Azerbaijan made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the region in winter 1993–1994.

Kalbajar was under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic until November 25, 2020, when Armenian troops returned the region along with other occupied districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control under a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia, ending the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.