Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 1 /. Trend, E. Tariverdiyeva /
The Upper House of New Mexico State Parliament adopted a resolution to honor the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, a statement of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. A resolution recognizing the massacre of the Azerbaijani population was submitted for consideration to the upper house of parliament by the state senator from Democratic Party, Gerald Ortiz y Pino.
Earlier, on January 28, the Senate of New Mexico recognized the Khojaly tragedy.
The document speaks about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and gives details of the massacre committed by Armenian armed forces against the peaceful Azerbaijani population during the occupation of Khojaly on February 25-26, 1992, and murder of more than 600 people, including children, women and elderly.
"...many civilians bodies found in Khojaly after the fight were disfigured and mutilated, making this one of the most inhumane and barbaric battles of the war," the author of the resolution says.
The document also notes that 20% of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions are occupied by Armenian armed forces, despite the UN Security Council resolutions condemning the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
The resolution of New Mexico Senate on recognition of Khojaly massacre was adopted unanimously by 35 attending senators.
Khojaly tragedy was also recognized by legislative bodies of Texas, New Jersey, Georgia, and Maine.
On Feb. 25-26 February, 1992, Armenian occupation forces together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi (earlier Stepanakert) fired on the Azerbaijani town of Khojali that had been under siege for months; within one night the town was razed to the ground. Some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.