Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 20
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Of more than one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, more than 400,000 are women and more than 300,000 are children, the chairman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova said on Sept. 20.
She mentioned that the genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis in Khojaly has been so far recognized by ten countries.
During the conflict period, Azerbaijan achieved the release of 1114 people who were held hostage, and among them there are 223 children, 363 women, Huseynova added.
"Rehabilitation work is very important for their integration into society. Some 29 children, 98 remain hostages. Their fates are still unknown and we are very worried about it," she said.
Huseynova appealed to civil societies and international organizations to pay special attention to this issue.
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.
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