13,000 People Left Homeless, Says Hadrut Mayor

Two villages in the Hadrut region, Khanzadzor and Hin Tagher, remain under the control of the Artsakh army. This was stated by Hadrut Mayor Vahan Savadyan in an interview with "Factinfo." Before the war, Hadrut had a population of over 13,000 residents. However, the mayor believes that it is unlikely residents will return to these villages in the near future. Safety concerns have not been addressed, and Russian peacekeeping forces have not yet been deployed there.

As for how many people have been rendered homeless, the mayor currently does not have complete data as they are in the process of gathering information. "We are registering residents. They call or write to our website, and we fill in the information according to villages and settlements, family compositions. We specify the Hadrut address, their current residence, phone number. We note, for example, whether they are renting or staying with relatives, etc., so that later, when the security issue for returning to Artsakh is resolved, we can contact the residents and facilitate their return home," Savadyan explained.

He reported that 50 percent of the residents have registered, but many details are still yet to be filled out. The mayor mentioned that he is currently in Yerevan, but will depart for Artsakh tomorrow to clarify the housing and future challenges facing Hadrut residents who have lost their homes.

"Currently, families who are temporarily returning to Stepanakert, Askeran, or other settlements under Artsakh’s control are renting apartments. We sign a contract with the landlord, and the Republic of Artsakh transfers that amount on behalf of the resident. But for the other residents who are unable to rent an apartment, there is still no concrete information; we may have clearer details in the next three or four days," he added.

The mayor indicated that they have yet to calculate the damages, and the extent of losses is only estimated at this point. He believes that the most important task now is to address the daily concerns of the residents.

Regarding supporting owners with the dismantling of infrastructure, he mentioned they have not managed to address this issue either. "Personally, I left my ID there, so 99 percent of what was in Hadrut is still there," he noted.

According to Savadyan, during the war, on October 7, they suspected that the end of the war could have a bad outcome for Hadrut. They managed to convince residents to evacuate. "The most crucial task we managed to accomplish 99.9 percent was the evacuation of the residents. Until the end, we hoped that such a situation would not happen, and therefore did not think about the issue of moving belongings. If we had announced to people that such a thing might happen, it would have caused panic and we would not have been able to evacuate the residents in time. This was our concern, which is why we only evacuated residents to ensure safety. We did not announce about documents either to prevent panic. Most had already left by the 7th, with approximately 500-600 residents remaining, many of whom could not take their belongings. People even left money there, hoping to return," said the Hadrut mayor.