Since it is not my intention to dwell on these causes, it suffices to say that the power struggle in Baku and its demoralizing and divisive impact on the National Army units made military victories by Armenians a fairly easy task. After the capture of Lachin, the other Kurdish districts followed the suit. Kelbajar, Gubadli, Zengilan, Cebrayil were occupied by the Armenian troops in a very short time during 1993.

The occupation of Kelbajar which carried no less strategic importance than Lachin has also been a subject of long discussions among Kurds. An unconfirmed hypothesis has it that Elchibey left Kelbajar defenseless on purpose to ‘kill two birds with one stone’. First, Armenians would be presented to the world as having committed genocide in Kelbajar secondly victimizing Kurds would not