Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 14
Trend:
The crimes committed in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly are being committed today in Syria and Iraq, political analyst Oleg Kuznetsov told reporters in Baku Mar. 14 on the sidelines of a conference, titled “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, origins, peacemaking and the role of civil society”.
Until the world recognizes the Khojaly genocide, it will be impossible to prevent such crimes, said Kuznetsov.
The political analyst noted that on Mar. 6, he initiated a petition on recognition of the Khojaly genocide at the Russian parliament. The petition is addressed to members of the State Duma and Federation Council.
The initiation of this petition on the crime committed in late 20th century is important, said Kuznetsov, and called on the international community to support the petition.
The political analyst added that the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenians is a crime against humanity.
On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of the former 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. A total of 1,000 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.