Azerbaijan mourns 30th anniversary of Khojaly tragedy
Azerbaijan marks 30th anniversary of Khojaly tragedy
Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan honored the memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy that occurred on February 26, 1992 during the first Karabakh war. With a mass procession and laying wreaths and flowers at the Mother’s Cry monument, the inhabitants of the country celebrated the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.
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A mass procession was held in Baku on the 30th anniversary of the tragedy that occurred on February 26, 1992 – during the first Karabakh war in the city of Khojaly in Karabakh. Residents of the country also honored the memory of the victims of the tragedy by laying flowers and wreaths at the Mother’s Cry monument, symbolizing the events of that day.
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has issued a statement amid the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.
“One of the heaviest crimes committed against the civilian population of Azerbaijan during the decades of Armenian aggression, and the most tragic page of the first Karabakh war, was the destruction of the city of Khojaly and the genocide committed against its inhabitants.
More than7,000 people lived in the city of Khojaly in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan before the start of the conflict.
In October 1991, the city was besieged by the armed forces of Armenia. On the night of February 25-26, 1992, after massive artillery shelling, the Armenian armed forces, with the support of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the Soviet army, which mostly consisted of Armenian servicemen, captured Khojaly. The invaders destroyed Khojaly and committed genocide against the civilian population with particular cruelty.
5,379 inhabitants were expelled from the city. In addition, 613 people were killed, 487 civilians became disabled as a result of bullet wounds. 106 women, 63 children, 70 old people were killed. Eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, 130 lost one of their parents. On the night of the tragedy, 1,275 civilians were taken hostage, the fate of 150 of them is still unknown.
The killing of civilians in Khojaly was the result of a policy of ethnic hatred and racial discrimination against Azerbaijanis, carried out in Armenia at the state level”, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
