28 years later: Azerbaijan marks tragic date of Khojaly genocide

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During the Karabakh war, Armenian military committed an act of genocide against the population of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly town consisting of 7,000 people on Feb. 26, 1992.

As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

All these acts were committed by Armenian military with extreme mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism. The second battalion of 366th regiment under the command of Major Seyran Ohanian, the third battalion under the command of Yevgeniy Nabokhin, staff chief of the first battalion Valeriy Chitchyan and more than 50 officers and ensigns took part in the attack, according to “The Investigation Materials Concerning Khojaly Occupation”.

The town residents who attempted to flee, were killed by Armenians in pre-organized ambushes. According to the Russian Remedial Center Memorial, 200 corpses were brought from Khojaly to Aghdam within four days of the massacre. Facts of humiliation on dozens of bodies were registered. Forensic examination in Aghdam was performed on 181 corpses, including 13 children. The examination revealed that 151 people died from bullet wounds, 20 people died from shrapnel wounds, 10 were killed with blunt instruments. Facts of scalping people alive were also revealed.

The Khojaly genocide has become one of the most terrible and tragic pages of Azerbaijani history.

Azerbaijani people have faced ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenian nationalists and chauvinists for 200 years. Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical lands and became refugees and internally displaced persons, and all this was accompanied by massacres committed by Armenians.

The Nagorno-Karabakh events, which began in 1988 along with continuous efforts to implement the Armenian desire of building “an Armenia from sea to sea”, led to destruction of towns and villages, murder of thousands of innocent people, as well as the exile of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands.

Armenia’s government is trying to annex Nagorno-Karabakh despite international legal norms, demonstrating its readiness to resort to any kind of crime and atrocity. The Khojaly genocide – a tragedy of the 20th century – was a result of this aggressive and criminal policy. This tragedy of the late 20th century was one of the most serious crimes not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but humanity as a whole.

Armenians scalped people alive, beheaded them and cut other parts of their bodies, gouged children’s eyes and disemboweled pregnant women. It should also be noted that chemical weapons were used in Khojaly during the attack.

All these prove that Armenia committed genocide against civilians, violating Geneva Convention’s protocols.

The Khojaly genocide, committed with a particular atrocity, terrified journalists and publicists from Russia, Georgia, the UK, France, Germany, the US and other countries.

International conventions and laws in all countries condemn genocides like the Khojaly tragedy, and call them inadmissible.

The world must know that this crime was directed not only against the Azerbaijani people, but also against the whole civilized world.

This crime shouldn’t go unpunished. Armenia’s military-political aggression must be condemned by the world community. International organizations and parliaments of world countries must give political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenia in Azerbaijan’s territories.

The parliaments of several countries have made decisions recognizing the Khojaly genocide.

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