Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
Trend:
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has condemned the Khojaly Massacre in a statement released on the 26th anniversary of the incident, Turkish media reported on Feb.26.
"Turkey commiserates deeply with the Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this violent attack and massacre, which they suffered exactly 26 years ago today in Khojaly and shares their pain wholeheartedly," the statement said.
"We vehemently condemn these massacres carried out by the troops of Armenia as well as the continued occupation of the Azerbaijani territories for years," it added. Calling on the international community to assign the necessary importance this massacre, the foreign affairs committee added: "We hereby reiterate our call for the perpetrators of this act to be brought to justice before international law and for Armenia to withdraw as soon as possible from the Azerbaijani territories it has occupied."
The committee also conveyed condolences to all the people of Azerbaijan.
On February 26, 1992, Armenian military committed an act of genocide against the 7,000 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 in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.