Madagiz offensive

On 27 September 2020, clashes broke out in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is de facto controlled by Artsakh, but de jure part of Azerbaijan.[6] This was followed by an offensive launched by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the direction of Talish and Madagiz next day,[7] with the Azerbaijani forces had gaining control of a "strategic high ground" around Talish.[8] On 29 September, the Azerbaijani authorities stated that their aerial and ground forces destroyed a mixed column of Armenian military vehicles travelling from Madagiz, together with an artillery battery.[9] They also stated that the Azerbaijani forces had had destroyed an Armenian position near Talish.[10] On 2 October, the Azerbaijani forces captured and took control of dominant heights around Madagiz,[11] By 3 October, the Azerbaijani forces had seized control of Talish[12] and Madagiz,[13] as well as the latter's strategic dam.[2] On 9 October, the Azerbaijani authorities released confirmary footage from Talish and Madagiz.[14][15]

On 3 October, Madagiz was renamed to Sugovushan by the decree of Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan.[16] On 8 October, the Azerbaijani authorities released water from the Madagiz Reservoir, which was seized by Armenian forces in 1992 and its work was suspended since, causing serious environmental problems in the Tartarchay River. As a result of the regulation of water discharged from the reservoir, water supply to Tartar, Goranboy and Yevlakh Districts, as well as ecological balance was ensured.[17]

Azerbaijani colonel Babak Samidli, deputy commander of the 1st Army Corps, died from a land-mine explosion on 23 November, during a post-armistice search for the bodies of missing soldiers in Madagiz.[18]