20 Azerbaijani families received keys to apartments in Karabakh.

18 IDP families will live in Khankendi, and two more families will live in the village of Ashagi Oratag in the Aghdere region.

As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, in December 2025, the first group of Azerbaijani IDPs - 30 families - returned to the village of Karkijahan (Armenian name - Kirkijan), the former capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. Karkijahan is considered a microdistrict of Khankendi (Armenian name - Stepanakert), Jasur Sumerinli, head of the Azerbaijani Center for Caspian Military Studies, told the "Caucasian Knot" in September 2023. "From here, the city is visible as if in the palm of your hand," he explained.

Another group of residents left for the city of Khankendi today - 18 families (68 people) have been resettled to the city. These are families who had been temporarily living in various places in the republic, primarily in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings, writes Report.

The displaced persons were handed the keys to their apartments, the report says.

Two families of 12 people also arrived in the village of Ashagi Oratag in the Aghdere region and received housing, APA reports.

The resettlement of Karabakh is lagging behind the stated pace, analyst Togrul Juvarli noted. Approximately 35,000 people have already returned to 45 settlements. Counting construction workers, seconded workers from other sectors, and law enforcement officers, approximately 80,000–85,000 people already live in these areas. However, as part of the first phase of the "Great Return" program, the government has announced a goal of returning approximately 120,000 people by the end of 2026, he recalled.

"This goal, in terms of the return of internally displaced persons, will obviously not be achieved." By the end of the year, even taking into account the accelerated rate of return, another 30,000 people will return to the region,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

As a reminder, two families resettled in the village of Ashagy Oratag on May 16, and nine families earlier on April 14. The previous resettlement stage took place in February. All the displaced persons were instructed on mine safety issues and were given relevant information booklets.

Azerbaijani residents who returned to Karabakh told the “Caucasian Knot” that they are settling in and finding work. Despite ongoing problems with employment and infrastructure, the displaced persons note an improvement in their living conditions. Previously, they href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/394254">complained about the difficulties of returning to Karabakh. In particular, they noted that there are not enough jobs in Fizuli. People are looking for opportunities to return to their homelands, but property issues in the territories that came under Azerbaijani control have not yet been resolved, the IDPs noted.

On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan conducted large-scale military operations and took control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, after which a mass exodus of the Armenian population began. By October 7, 2023, 100,632 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh had arrived in Armenia, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians remained in the region. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "The Beginning and End of the Unrecognized Republic of Artsakh".