Lachin

Lachin (Azerbaijani: Laçın, Armenian: Բերդձոր Berddzor, Kurdish: Laçîn; also Abdallyar, Datschin) is a town in Azerbaijan and the regional center of the Lachin Rayon. Since 1992 the area has been under the control of the de facto independent unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which has renamed the town Berdzor. The town and its surrounding region serve as the strategic Lachin corridor connecting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with Armenia. With about 1,700 inhabitants in 2009 (down from 2,300 in 2005), population numbers are still declining despite a proactive settlement policy by the authorities. Lachin was known as Abdalyar until 1923. On 15 May 1992, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Lachin was captured by Nagorno Karabakh forces,...