Hilis

Hilis (Հիլիս) or Garakotuk (Qarakötük, formerly İlis) is a village in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. Prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, it was de facto controlled by the Republic of Artsakh as a village in its Askeran Province. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population before the offensive and in 1989.

History
During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Askeran District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

Hilis was a part of the Republic of Artsakh until its dissolution on 2024.

Historical heritage sites
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a village and cemetery from between the 16th and 18th centuries, St. John's Church (Սուրբ Հովհաննես եկեղեցի) built in 1860, and a 19th-century spring monument.

Economy and culture
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, the Hilis branch of the Khndzristan Secondary School, and a medical centre.

Demographics
The village had 172 inhabitants in 2005, and 180 inhabitants in 2015.