I‘ve always known Elviyya Sadigova as an intelligent, sharp witted and dedicated student of humanities with deep interest in history and modern languages. Most of our chats revolve around the Middle Eastern affairs, discussing recent developments and their implications on future. A twenty-year-old based in Baku, Azerbaijan, she speaks five other languages, besides her native Azeri language, including Russian, English and Arabic; not to mention her in-depth analysis of the Middle Eastern developments that are regularly featured on Azeri news websites.
On a routine morning rush hour, Elviyya, along with hundreds of other students was heading towards her educational institution, Baku State University, located in central Baku. Students in her university were getting ready for another hectic day of intense lectures and seminars coupled with presentations. The ones who were ‘sick and tired’ of this routine didn’t turn up, bunked their classes and ended up in nearby beautiful parks and cafes. But for the ones who turned up, the day was about to take a different course…
(Getty Images)
City of Winds, as its known, was bracing to weather a chilling storm. Hardly five kilometres from Elviyya’s Baku State University, the students of the State Oil Academy packed to their classrooms just after 0900 in the morning as the classes began. The educational institution, known as Azerbaijan State Oil Academy (ASOA) was founded in 1920, has produced renown graduates like Lavrentiy Beria, the former KGB head under Stalin’s rule; José Eduardo dos Santos, the current President of Angola and Heydar Aliyev, the all powerful president of post-Soviet Azerbaijan.
Within half an hour, at around 0930, everything came to a halt when a shooting frenzy rocked the building and plunged everyone present there into confusion and chaos. What ensued during and after the shooting jolted the whole nation and remains to be investigated thoroughly.
Eye-Witness Details
According to some students present at the scene, two gunmen stormed the building after shooting dead the security guard. They made their way to the top (6th) floor while randomly spraying bullets at anyone within their range. “We were attending the lecture and someone began to kick the door. Suddenly two [guys] burst into the room and shot at the students sitting in the front row. The students began to flee the lecture hall. When I left the room I saw a lot of wounded people in the corridor. The gunmen were of Slavonic origin. One of them was in mask. As they did not speak, we could not know their nationality,” the Azeri news agency APA quoted a student without naming him.
Azeri special forces and medical services soon rushed to the scene. (Reuters)
Rovshen Allahverdiyev, another eyewitness, however told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that “he was a lone gunman with a pistol, and he was shooting everyone — students [and] teachers.”
“I saw how he shot my fellow student,” Allahverdiyev added. “There is only one exit on the first floor [and] the second floor is too high to jump. Everyone was running here and there. My colleague tried to disarm him and went towards him but he shot at him, then we ran away.”
Official Account
According to the official sources, the attack happened in the Building 2 of the State Oil Academy of Azerbaijan located in the Dilara Street, in central Baku. The perpetrator was a 29-year-old Georgian citizen of Azeri descent. He was identified as Farda Asad Gadirov. The official statement added that the lone gunman turned the gun on himself as soon as the special police force stormed the building. “He climbed from the first floor to the sixth, shooting people mainly in the head from a Makarov pistol,” the state prosecutor’s office said, adding that three ammunition belts and 71 bullets were found on the body of the attacker.
“The armed attack on the State Oil Academy in Baku killed 12 and wounded 13 on April 30,” the spokesman of the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, Eldar Sultanov, declared in a press conference next day after the incident. He strongly denied reports in some sections of press that it was a politically motivated attack. “Such incidents happen in many countries,” he added.
Eye-Witness Accounts Differ
Conflicting identity: According to official sources, (pictured is) the victim of the shooting inside the Azerbaijan Oil Academy in Baku. Other sources, however, say this might be the other attacker who according to some eyewitnesses was wearing a cap and a jacket. Russiatoday.com has also posted a video on their website identifying the same person as ‘terrorist’. (Getty Images)
Students in the nearby Baku State University were informed about the happenings in Oil Academy. The security was tightened immediately and the pupils were asked to stay in the lecture halls until further notice. These steps helped students stay calm and avoided confusion at the campus.
Elviyya recounted her experience as ‘shocking’ and ‘worrying’. “We were in the second lesson when we got information that the oil academy is surrounded by the police,” said Elviyya with disbelief on her face. Describing her next move she said: “We called our friends who studied there and they told us about everything. My friend was inside the lecture room when she spoke to me. She told me that the gunman is inside the building and has shot at everybody he met on his way.”
I immediately asked about the safety of her friend, to which Elviyya replied: “She is alive but her boyfriend is dead. Just in front of her eyes he was shot in the neck. You know the murderer aimed perfectly at head or neck, killing and injuring many people.” She added that Parvin (her friend) thought there might be more than one perpetrator but is not really sure about it.
Nation In Shock
When asked about the claims made by some Western media outlets that it was a pre-planned attack staged by the illegal oil mafia supported by the country’s opposition, the 20-year-old student quickly denied the information as rubbish. “No, I don’t think so. The oil is separated from the society in Azerbaijan. We know about the great projects that the government has funded through the oil export profits. I don’t think that the oil academy was attacked for this reason.”
Relatives of the victims react after laying floral wreaths at the university where at least 10 people died in the shooting incident. The dead included at least two women. (Reuters)
Explaining that the attack comes as a big surprise, the journalism undergraduate described a bit about her country’s past incidents that, though completely different in nature, shook the nation. “Baku is a small city on the coast of the smallest sea in the world, Caspian sea. It has witnessed the military marches in honour of the war in Karabakh in late 80s; it saw the attacks of the former Soviet army on 20 January 1990; it also witnessed Armenian terrorism when two subway stations were bombed in 1995 killing more than 300 people,” adding that this was the result of a global policy, when Azeris, Russians, Armenians and the Europeans were fighting for hegemony in the Caucasus.
“But we never expected the act of terrorism – what happened on Thursday – inside our society,” Elviyya said with shock in her tone. She expressed her deep sorrow over the fact that most of the victims were young students who didn’t come to the age of 20 yet and had a bright future ahead of them. “I went to the hospital to donate blood along with other friends. This is the least we could do for our injured colleagues,” a tearful Elviyya remarked.
Problematic Yet Peaceful
Official Azeri sources have identified the attacker as 29-year-old Farda Asad Gadirov, an ethnic Azeri of Georgian citizenship. The statement issued by the Interior Ministry said the attack was committed by using a Makarov pistol. Media reports suggest that the perpetrator, born in Georgia to Azeri parents, lived in Russia for 15 years, only to return to his native village in Georgia a month ago. Latest news coming from the Azeri capital say a suspect has been detained in connection with the killings. “The 25-year-old suspect, Aliyev Nadir Shirkhan, kept close contact with the murderer and has been detained today,” Prosecutor General’s Office spokesperson Eldar Sultanov told reporters in Baku.
Speaking about the problems today’s Azeri society faces, Elviyya pointed out that the country has enjoyed stability over the years under the reign of current leader Ilham Aliyev. “During the last five years, people of Azerbaijan decided not to interfere in the political life, and I think it is the reason of economical growth in the country.”
Ilham Alivey casting his vote in a referendum on various constitutional issues including the two term limit for a president. The Azeri leader won the referendum by a land-slide. (AP)
She however acknowledged that the country faces some problems and that some religious extremist elements are gaining ground in the country. “Of course we have opposition inside the state, but I find it normal. Many European countries have opposition parties. But there is no deep collision between the opposition and the government. There is noticeable political struggle going on for the influence on the oil industry.
“During the last 10 years, we have seen the spread of different Islamic and religious organizations, which I find quite bad for the future of the country. We should also consider the probable influence of Iran in this, and role of Turkish religious communities. Historically, Azerbaijan has open borders with these countries, which are not well-controlled. But again, it is too early to surmise, and tie it with this incident.” She also expressed her concern over the increasing use of drugs and alcohol in the society, especially among the youth.
Hanging Questions
The 30 April Oil Academy shooting has left many questions on the minds of millions of Azeris. People are openly asking questions like how many attackers were involved in the incident? Who was Farda Gadirov and why did he carried out the attack? And why has the government not declared a national mourning yet? Unless the government digs deep into the investigation and uncovers the plot, chances are that public shock will turn into discontent. The current Aliyev administration would like to avoid such a situation at all costs, especially at a time when falling oil prices and global financial crisis have badly dented government’s revenues and influence.
the attacker was a kurd from georgia, and they say the armenians are behind the attack and all the traning