Seymur Kazimov

13 Posts

0 Followers

Seymur is a journalist specialising in conflict studies who is experienced in cross-border monitoring and reporting. He has been working as a journalist for the last 15 years. He writes about conflic

The inside of the home owned by sisters Roza and Birana Abdullayeva. Photo: Seymur Kazimov/OC Media.

Armenia

The July escalation: Azerbaijani civilians in the line of fire

by Seymur Kazimov

•5 min read

On 12 July 2020, fighting broke out on the northern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, lasting for several days. As soldiers on the frontline exchanged fire, artillery shells fell on the villages of Armenia’s Tavush Province and Azerbaijan’s Tovuz District. OC Media travelled to the border regions of both countries to speak with the civilians who found themselves in the line fighting and to share their stories. Below is our report from the Azerbaijani side of the border. You

Analysis

Afghan refugees struggle to make a living in Azerbaijan

by Seymur Kazimov

•6 min read

Hundreds of Afghan refugees in Azerbaijan often find themselves stuck in legal limbo and mired in poverty. For many who are supported by the UN, dwindling funding and a lack of tailored intervention threaten to complicate their situation further. ‘I escaped the Taliban’s oppression. After my father, mother, and brother were killed, I left Kabul.’ Since leaving Afghanistan 13 years ago, Kandagha Amiri, 46, has lived in Azerbaijan, where has received asylum. He told OC Media that since his

Armenia

Proposals to include Nagorno-Karabakh in peace talks raise red flags in Azerbaijan

by Seymur Kazimov

•5 min read

Ahead of a meeting between the Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev this Friday, Azerbaijani analysts and politicians share their hopes and concerns over the rekindled dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The January statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs that it was necessary to ‘prepare the populations for peace’ over Nagorno-Karabakh came as a breath of fresh air in the long-stalled negotiation process, raising

Aghdam

In pictures | Life along the Azerbaijani border regions of Gazakh and Tovuz

by Seymur Kazimov

•7 min read

Along the Armenian–Azerbaijani border, ceasefire violations occur frequently from both sides. In the villages of Gazakh and Tovuz districts of Azerbaijan closest to the frontline, some report the shooting has become less frequent, but the violence can still mean a loss of livelihood or even a loss of life. Jumshud Mursalov, 53, was born in Bala Jafarli; there are currently six members of his family still living in the village. Lying near the border with Armenia in Azerbaijan’s north-we

Azerbaijan

Caring for the war-wounded: a thankless task in Azerbaijan

by Seymur Kazimov

•6 min read

The Nagorno-Karabakh war left thousands in Azerbaijan with lasting scars — both physical and psychological. For many of the loved ones of disabled veterans, being a carer is a full-time task. But carers say they receive little support, and they must get by on the small disability benefits available. ‘I used to be a nurse in a military hospital. I witnessed many things there, like girls abandoning their grooms whose hands or arms had been amputated. All the young men were participants

Armenia

‘I would never return home again’ — the Azerbaijani IDPs as old as the conflict

by Seymur Kazimov

•7 min read

Thirty years have passed since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and a generation has grown up with the spectre of conflict hanging over them. For those children who felt the war first-hand, displaced and moving from place to place throughout their childhood, the prospect of continuing bloodshed is especially hard to bear. Parvana Gurbanova, 30, was displaced from the village of Yukhari Abdurrahmanli in the Fuzuli District in August 1993. ‘I was 5 or 6 years old. Till the

OC Insider