BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijan continues to make efforts for the international community to recognize the Khojaly tragedy as an act of genocide, Assistant of the President of Azerbaijan, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters on Feb. 24, Trend reports.
"The Azerbaijani people are to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy. This tragedy is a painful wound of the Azerbaijani people. Azerbaijanis always honor the memory of Khojaly victims with deep respect. Today, we continue to make efforts for the international community to recognize the Khojaly tragedy as an act of genocide," Hikmet Hajiyev said.
"The main goal is to achieve recognition of the Khojaly tragedy as an act of genocide as defined by the international law. Raising public awareness, the Justice for Khojaly! campaign, the activities of our civil society organizations, diplomatic missions and diaspora organizations all play important roles in this process," Hajiyev added.
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.