BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21
Trend:
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Trend reports on May 21 with reference to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
“I am writing to inform you of the initial results of the ongoing investigation by the General Prosecutor’s Office regarding the intentional killing of Azerbaijani civilians by the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Armenia in the Bashlibel village of the Kalbajar district of Azerbaijan in the course of the latter’s invasion by Armenia in April 1993,” the letter said.
“Having regained access to the territories of Azerbaijan following their liberation after an almost 30-year-long military occupation of Armenia, the relevant authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan are now able to collect additional material evidence with regard to numerous heinous crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the armed forces of Armenia in the course of the aggression against Azerbaijan,” the letter said.
“As the result of these efforts, new details became unearthed regarding the mass killings of Azerbaijani civilians in the Bashlibel village of the Kalbajar district in April 1993,” the letter said. “Thus, it was established that in the course of an attack by the armed forces of Armenia on the village on April 3, 1993, 62 civilian residents had to flee from the invading Armenian forces and took refuge in caves located three km away from the village.”
“On April 18, 1993, the Armed Forces of Armenia found the civilians hiding in the caves and subjected them to intensive fire from machine guns and other types of weapons,” the letter said. “As a result, 12 civilians, including one child and one teenager, were killed on the spot inside the caves.”
“The Bashlibel massacre is by no means an isolated case, but adds to numerous previously identified war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Armenia in the course of its armed aggression against Azerbaijan,” the letter said. “Comprehensive investigation of all those crimes is of critical importance for justice and post-conflict reconciliation.”
“In this context, Armenia’s continued refusal to cooperate on the issue of establishing the whereabouts of close to 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the period of the military hostilities in 1991–1994 must be expeditiously addressed,” the letter said.
“I appeal to you once again with the request to extend your contribution to the establishment of the truth over numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis,” the letter said. “I also call upon you to render assistance in bringing clarity to the fates of thousands of persons missing due to the conflict, as well as addressing the imminent threat posed by landmines and other explosive remnants of war.”
“These are all of crucial importance in order to translate into reality the vision of peace, security and cooperation of the mentioned trilateral statements to the benefit of the peoples of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as broader regional peace and stability,” the letter said.
The document can be found at https://undocs.org/a/75/875.