Azerbaijanis who fled a separatist region decades ago ache to return, but it could be a long wait

By AIDA SULTANOVA
Associated Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — The sudden capitulation of ethnic Armenian forces in a separatist region of Azerbaijan raises hopes for the return of thousands of people who fled the territory decades ago. As they now contemplate going back, it could likely be a long wait. Although the Azerbaijan government has allocated billions of dollars for what it calls the “Great Return” program, the process will be slow. Infrastructure needs to be improved, housing must be built and heavily mined areas must  be laboriously combed. An estimated 700,000 Azerbaijanis fled or were forced out of the region they call Karabakh amid violence that flared beginning in 1988 and then grew into an outright war.