Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 24 / Trend , E.Rustamov/
Armenians tried to prevent a commemorative ceremony on the Khojali Genocide in Los Angeles.
About 50-60 ethnic Armenians, mostly University of California students, protested an event marking the 17th anniversary of the Khojali Genocide in front of the Azerbaijani Consulate General in Los Angeles, Consul Elman Abdullayev told Trend in a telephone conversation on Feb. 24.
On the night of Feb. 25, 1992, Armenian separatists seized the Khojali settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Within hours, over 613 unarmed Azerbaijani citizens were killed. Among them were 106 women, 70 old people and 63 children. The massacre continued for days, while the Armenian separatists killed their hostages and cut the heads off of Azerbaijani military personnel. A total of 487 people were left disabled and 1,275 people were taken prisoner. The fate of 150 people remains unknown.
The protest lasted three hours.
Law enforcement officials patrolled the scene of the demonstration, Abdullayev said.
The consul said the Armenians distributed false information about the Khojali events to local residents.
"Various Armenian organizations and Armenian diaspora leaders support such protests," Abdullayev said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
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