He said the objective of his visit was to become familiar with the state of Azerbaijani armed forces.

And there are reports that some Turks want to offer their services as volunteer soldiers in the Azerbaijani forces.

However, the corridor was under constant threat from Azerbaijani forces who repeatedly tried to cut it.

Last summer, the capital was under daily bombardment by Azerbaijani forces, and the population lived underground, emerging only to fetch water.

Azerbaijani military forces were unable to put up much resistance to Armenian advances and left most of the areas without any serious fighting.

By early September, Azerbaijani forces were nearly in complete disarray.

According to several eyewitnesses, the Azerbaijani self-defense forces were mixed in with civilians as they fled.

Khydyrly village around which Azerbaijani forces took up positions fell next.

Despite the national mobilization, Azerbaijani forces were able to retake only a few villages but not the city.

But there was no independent confirmation, and officials sources here say that the Azerbaijani forces entered the town only to be repulsed with heavy losses.