BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 30. The tragedy in the village of Meshali of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly district occurred on December 23, 1991. The villagers were completely surrounded and attacked by Armenians using machine guns and other weapons, resulting in the deaths of four people from the Guliyev family and five from the Novruzov family.
Sabir Gasimov, who survived the attack, shared his story in an interview with Public Television, Trend reports.
He revealed that the terrorists killed women, children, and the elderly, including a seventh-grade student named Vidadi Allahverdiyev and an 80-year-old woman named Suraya. Some residents were also killed on the road to Shusha while attempting to escape.
Gasimov mentioned that 14 villagers were in serious condition, and a total of 365 people suffered from the Armenian barbarism, forcing them to flee barefoot towards the mountains.
The eyewitness emphasized that the Armenian terrorists used mortars against unarmed civilians. The massacre eventually reached the center of the village, and if help hadn't arrived from nearby settlements, the number of victims would have been even higher.
"We hope that Vagif Khachatryan, who was detained at the Lachin border crossing point, and his accomplices will stand trial," concluded the eyewitness of the genocide.
Vagif Khachatryan, internationally wanted fugitive of Meshali massacre of December 22, 1991, was detained by the military personnel of the State Border Service at the Lachin border crossing point of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border while trying to go to the Republic of Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The investigation established that Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan, born in 1955, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in Badara village of Askaran district and worked as a driver in Khankendi city automobile transport company, residing in Meshali village, together with other people of Armenian nationality, used various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, to completely destroy the village.
Using various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, they raided the village and killed 25 people of Azerbaijani nationality, injured 14 people, and contrary to national and international law norms expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their domicile.
In addition, Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan continued his criminal actions together with his accomplices, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, causing a total of 5 million 496 thousand 900 manats of material damage.
Due to the fact that sufficient reasonable suspicions arose regarding the criminal case, it was decided to involve Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan as an accused person under articles 103 (massacre) and 107 (deportation or forced movement of the population) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. However, due to the fact that his whereabouts were unknown to the investigation, on November 12, 2013, an international arrest warrant was applied by the court's decision.