Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
The perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide will be punished, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral told reporters in Baku Feb. 26.
Turkey shares the sorrow of the Azerbaijani people, the diplomat said.
Ozoral noted that despite the fact that 25 years have passed since the Khojaly genocide, justice is not served yet.
He expressed confidence that Azerbaijan will return the occupied territories.
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.