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Turkic Council commemorates martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly

Politics Materials 25 February 2020 12:14 (UTC +04:00)
Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) commemorates the martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly with deep respect and conveys its condolences to the Government and people of Azerbaijan
Turkic Council commemorates martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25

Trend:

Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) commemorates the martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly with deep respect and conveys its condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan, Secretary General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev said, Trend reports with reference to the statement.

“Over the night from 25 to 26 February 1992, an unprecedented massacre was committed against the Azerbaijani civilians of Khojaly town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This tragedy, which is one of the bloodiest crimes in the history of mankind, became to be known as the Khojaly genocide, involved the extermination or capture of the thousands of Azerbaijanis,” Amreyev wrote.

He reminded that as a result of the brutal atrocities, 613 people were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly and 487 people were crippled.

“Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 people remains unknown. Civilians were shot at close range, scalped, and burned alive. The elderly, children and women who were captured were subjected to unprecedented torture, abuse and humiliation,” he said.

He added that as the Turkic Council, it commiserates deeply with its Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this violent attack and massacre, which they suffered exactly 28 years ago today in Khojaly, and wholeheartedly share their pain.

“We also stand hand in hand with the government of Azerbaijan in their world-wide “Justice for Khojaly” International Awareness Campaign and show the necessary sensitivity to this fact.
With these feelings, we commemorate the martyrs who lost their lives in Khojaly with deep respect and convey our condolences to the government and people of Azerbaijan,” Amreyev wrote.

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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