Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 24 / Trend , J. Babayeva/
The Azerbaijani parliamentary speaker said the Khojali Genocide was a tremendous tragedy committed against humanity in late 20th Century.
"The Azerbaijani people will never forget the Khojali Genocide. We have commemorated the tragedy for 17 years," Parliamentary Speaker Ogtay Asadov told the parliament 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 speaker said the parliament proclaimed Feb. 26 as Khojali Genocide Day upon the request of former President Heydar Aliyev in 1994.
"Diaspora organizations have commemorated the genocide ever since. Our MPs will attend commemorative events organized by our diaspora organizations," Asadov said.
The parliament commemorated Khojali victims with a minute of silence.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]