Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 24
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
Djibouti’s parliament, the National Assembly, adopted a resolution recognizing the Khojaly genocide, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told Trend Jan. 24.
The resolution was officially presented to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Djibouti Elman Abdullayev by the National Assembly Chairman Mohamed Ali Houmed during a meeting of the sides.
During the meeting, Mohamed Ali Houmed reiterated his country’s support to Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Ministry said the National Assembly’s resolution recognizes that Azerbaijani territories were occupied by Armenia.
The resolution also recognizes the massacre by the Armenian armed forces against the civilians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992 as an act of genocide and crime against humanity, and declares that the persons responsible must be punished in accordance with relevant international instruments, said the ministry.
Respect for sovereignty and internationally recognized territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan was reaffirmed in the resolution of the National Assembly and it is declared that occupation of a territory by force is unacceptable according to the UN Charter and international law.
The National Assembly demanded the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, as well as other international organizations regarding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and called on international community and international organizations to put pressure on Armenia to implement these decisions.
Deep concern over the fate of more than one million Azerbaijanis, who fell victim to the Armenian aggression, the scale of humanitarian problems and their critical situation, was expressed in the Djibouti National Assembly’s resolution, and the international community was called on to contribute to the conflict’s resolution, said the Foreign Ministry.
On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of 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. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 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.
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