(All rights to the photographs in this article belong to the author).

One of the most affected areas from the artillery and rocket strikes carried out by the Armenian armed forces since September 27 is a residential area in the Shikharkh settlement of Terter region. As a result of the shelling, three civilians were killed, 34 residential buildings, a music school, a high school and other administrative buildings were damaged. Construction of the microdistrict was completed in 2017 and is home to 1170 IDP(internally displaced person) families mainly from Kelbajar, Aghdam, Lachin, Jebrail and Shusha regions.

Zohrab Samedov has been living there for 3 years. He says that he and his family hid in a shelter in the early morning of September 27 when the area came under fire. Thus, they did not sustain any injuries.

“These houses can be rebuilt and restored, taking back our occupied lands is much more important,” Zohrab said.

Sakhavat Abdullaev has also been living here for three years. The day before the announcement of the humanitarian ceasefire, a shell hit the courtyard and the shrapnel damaged the house. Three days earlier, he had received a shrapnel wound to his arm.

On October 3, as a result of artillery fire of the Armenian Armed Forces, a large store in the village was completely destroyed. One of the store owners, Surat Orudzhev, said that all the goods were destroyed and as a result, suffered loss of half million AZN, but fortunately, there was no one in the store. Thus, no one was hurt.

There are no military units in the vicinity of the microdistrict. But now it looks like a battlefield: stones, glass, fragments, shells sticking out of the ground...

After the humanitarian ceasefire was declared on 10th of October, there was a lot of activity in front of the buildings towards evening. Today, residents living in shelters and other safe places are returning home. But not to live there again, buildings are nearly reduced to rubble. Residents came back to take with them undamaged household items and clothing.

Will the displaced life of these people continue for long? There is the cold of winter yet to come.