Azerbaijan: scuffle bursts out of SOCAR employees with Sulu-Tepe villagers

On April 6, in the village of Sulu-Tepe, located a few kilometres off Baku, the security service of the oil company SOCAR was using construction equipment to demolish the houses, which the company treats as illegally built. In protest against demolition, local residents took a fight with the workers.

A local Rashad Javadov received traumas in the clash; an ambulance was called to take care of him, the Contact Online News reports from the place of the incident.

The IA "Turan" adds that last week in Sulu-Tepe over 20 houses were demolished in the same manner, which also led to a clash between locals and employees of the state oil company.

In his turn, Rovnag Abdullaev, President of the SOCAR, has stated that the illegally occupied land plots in the villages of Sulu-Tepe, and Binagadi, belonging to the company, would be liberated; and the SOCAR will demolish the houses located there.

According to his story, there are oil wells in the territory of the villages, where SOCAR workers have no access and where they cannot carry out drilling works, the "1news.az" reports.

"We need to make sure that the population has lost their habit to build-up in these areas. It's abnormal and prevents normal oil extraction, since we can't work in occupied territories. If we want to extract oil normally, we must prevent such facts," Mr Abdullaev said.

He also called on the public to help the oilers. According to his version, the society has a wrong idea that the SOCAR demolishes all the houses; in fact, it is not the case.

"We demolish only the started-up houses and don't touch those long inhabited. There are people who try to cheat us and start construction at night. But I want to warn them that we have photos from space and know exactly the construction time of every house," the "ABC.az" quotes Abdullaev as saying.