Unknown Azerbaijani hero of the Kazakh nation

Participants of the First Karabakh War, retired and reserve officers, turned to the editorial office of the Turan agency to talk about the Azerbaijani hero, the son of the Kazakh people Yerbol Barymbekov.

Erbol Barymbekov was born on  June1, 1974 in the village of Koragaty, Lugovsky district of Kazakhstan. In the last twentieth year of his life, he defended Azerbaijan from Armenian aggression. He died in battle just two weeks before the end of the war - April 20, 1994 at the front while performing a combat mission.

The National Hero of Azerbaijan, Eldar Agayev was the commander of the 776th military unit, where Barymbekov served. Reserve captain Saleh Aliyev, who in 1992 was the deputy commander of the unit for socio-political work, says that in the First Karabakh War the battalion fought in Fizuli, Gubadli, in 1993 they were engaged in reconnaissance behind enemy lines. In January 1994, after special training, the 776th military unit was transformed into a separate special-purpose battalion (the first special forces of Azerbaijan).

“Then the soldiers and officers of this unit, at the cost of heavy losses in the battles in the Terter and Agdere directions, managed to stop the enemy, who intended to take Ganja. In April-May 1994, in the Terter region, the military unit lost especially many people, about 40 people. The battles were commanded by Chief of Staff Yashar Nasibov. The 776th showed the Armenians our strength, inflicting great damage on enemy manpower and equipment, destroying 8 tanks. During the combat path, the 776th lost 140 killed soldiers. Some of the dead are still unburied. We are obliged, after demining the territory, to return to the battlefields and fulfill our duty to the fallen comrades," S. Aliyev said.

On April 15, 1994, Commander-in-Chief Heydar Aliyev expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the operation. One of them was Yerbol Barymbekov of Kazakh nationality.

"Yerbol appeared in our battalion in February 1993, transferred from the 472nd military unit. I know about his merits in military operations in Kazakh and Kalbajar, where he fought before serving in the 776th. Yerbol said that he served in the Soviet army, after the collapse of the USSR, he voluntarily arrived in Azerbaijan to assist the brotherly Azerbaijani people in the Karabakh war.

He repeatedly participated in heavy reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines, was wounded. He was treated in the hospital and returned to the war. Not every wounded, cured, returns to the warring army. While performing a combat mission behind enemy lines, Yerbol died heroically in battle on April 20. The fact that the Terter region managed to defend against the onslaught of the Armenian army is also the personal merit of the foreman Yerbol Barymbekov.

Our duty is to bring to the Azerbaijani and Kazakh peoples the truth about the heroic son of Kazakhstan buried in the Alley of Martyrs. On behalf of the political officer of the unit, I express my gratitude to the Barymbekov family and all the fraternal Kazakh people for their help in our battles for Azerbaijan,” Saleh Aliyev said.

Retired captain Rashid Aliyev was the head of the communications service of the 776th unit. He said that when Yerbol was first wounded, he was 19 years old. But when  Yerbol learned that our unit had joined the battles, he not recovering, returned from the Baku hospital along with another wounded soldier.

"Only heroes can do this. For me, he is a warrior of the Turkic Islamic army of the 20th century," R. Aliyev said.

Reserve Major Elchin Mammadov was the commander of the reconnaissance group of the 776th unit. He first met Yerbol Barymbekov in early 1994.

Here's what he remembers: “I talked a lot with him. Yerbol was a fearless man, he preferred to fight in intelligence, take risks, test himself for strength.

In March 1994, a message was received that the Armenians deployed a regiment in the center of the city of Agdere. To check this information, by order of the command, they instructed the reconnaissance group of our unit. A reconnaissance group of five people, including me and Yerbol, moved forward. Complete darkness, nothing is visible, there is a minefield in front of us, there was no way to clear mines. We passed to the right of the city of Agdere and went to the tower on the mountain. We went down to the city, saw Armenians there - sleeping and walking. The information about the deployed regiment turned out to be false. We had to somehow confirm that we were in Agder. We removed the poster with the Armenian inscription and delivered it to our unit. So we proved to the command that the 776th unit can effectively conduct reconnaissance operations. Much later, officers of the 776th unit played an important role in the creation of the Yashma special forces military unit, which became famous in the Second Karabakh War.

Senior lieutenant of the reserve Peserek Farzaly fought shoulder to shoulder with Yerbol Barymbekov and says that the return of the Kazakh guy to battle from the hospital, after being wounded, his participation in a dozen heavy battles speaks of the high heroism of this man.

"I also express my gratitude to the fraternal Turkic Kazakh people and believe that Yerbol Barymbekov deserves a posthumous award," Farzaly said.

Yerbol's brother-soldiers applied to the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan with a statement in which they wished to perpetuate the name of E. Barymbekov - to honor the name of a martyr, to award posthumously, to name a street after him.

In a response letter, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the combat path of E. Barymbekov. Also, the Ministry of Defense reported that archival searches did not find a document on the nomination of Barymbekov for an award.

According to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated January 15, 1994, the state status of a martyr with appropriate benefits is issued to members of his family at the request of a local authority. In Azerbaijan, ships, streets, schools are named after those awarded with orders and medals, busts are erected for them, the officer of the Ministry of Defense who signed the letter informed fellow soldiers.

Yerbol Barymbekov, who fought heroically and died for Azerbaijan, became a martyr and was interred in the upland part of Baku on the Alley of Martyrs. And he deserved this name with his blood shed on Azerbaijani soil in the name of Azerbaijan's independence. Glory to the Hero.