Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Every Azerbaijani citizen should carry out the work for the world to recognize the Khojaly genocide and punish its perpetrators, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told reporters in Baku Feb. 26.
“Investigation will be further carried out in this direction,” he said. “It is necessary to make efforts for the international community to give political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide so that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Cooperation with international organizations is very important for that.”
On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of the former Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
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 as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.