By Zehra Nur Duz
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday commemorated the 104th anniversary of the liberation of Azerbaijan's capital city of Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation.
"I commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Baku, the capital of friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan, which is an inseparable part of us, from occupation,” Erdogan wrote on Twitter.
“As before, we will continue to stand by our Azerbaijani brothers in their just struggle,” he added.
On Sept. 15, 1918, an elite Ottoman force – called the Caucasian Islamic Army under the leadership of Nuri Pasha (Killigil) – was sent to Azerbaijan in the final months of World War I, right after Azerbaijan's plea to the Ottoman Empire.
Along with the Azerbaijani National Army and volunteer forces, the Caucasian Islamic Army liberated Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation.
Enver Pasha, then minister of war, personally conveyed the message to the Ottoman Empire that Baku was liberated from Armenian gangs.
Baku's liberation paved the way for the transfer of the capital from Ganja to Baku, ensuring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and setting the basis for its contemporary boundaries.