Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
Turkey expects the international community to assess the Khojaly tragedy properly, the Turkish presidential administration told Trend.
The Turkish presidential administration was commenting on the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide.
“Turkey shares the pain of the Azerbaijani brothers, remembers and will never forget about this tragedy,” the administration said. “Turkey once again calls on Armenia to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and return these lands to the rightful owner.”
“Turkey, as before, will support Azerbaijan in all spheres,” the administration said. "Turkey expresses sincere condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the terrible tragedy in Khojaly."
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.
During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 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 in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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