August 2011, Baku, Azerbaijan Baku's iconic "Flame Towers" emerging in the background, while the smaller houses in the foreground are set for demolition. Since the flow of money has poured into Baku thanks to the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, the Azeri capital has gone through intensive redevelopment. However human rights organisations criticise the way in which inhabitants of old Baku have been forcefully evicted from homes earmarked for demolition with inadequate compensation.
August 2011, Azerbaijan Dortyol refugee camp near the town of Berde, Agdam region. The Agdam region is on the border of the Nagorno Karabakh enclave, controlled by Armenia since 1994, and claimed by Azerbaijan. In spite of a cease fire brokered in 1994 skirmishes between Azeris and Armenians are an almost daily occurrence. Thousands of Azeri refugees fled Nagorno Karabakh and have lived in refugee camps for nearly 20 years. These used to be corrugated iron huts until 2008 when the Azeri government, awash with oil money from the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), built new large homes for many of the families. Although this has considerably increased their daily comfort it has also conveyed an air of permanence to their refugee status. I
August 2011, Dortyol, Aqdam region, Azerbaijan - Abdullah Gurbanov, village of Dortyol, Agdam region, Azerbaijan. The Agdam region is on the border of the Nagorno Karabakh enclave, controlled by Armenia since 1994 and claimed by Azerbaijan. In spite of a cease fire brokered in 1994 skirmishes between Azeris and Armenians are an almost daily occurence. In 2008 Abdullah Gurbanov, 23, was injured by a shell fired by Armenians. He lost both eyes and half his face was blown off. In spite of cosmetic surgery scars still disfigure his face.
