Khojaly genocide was commemorated in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov made statements at the commemoration ceremony of the 31st anniversary of Khojaly Genocide.

Speaking at the event, Bayramov noted that 31 years ago, the Armenian armed forces, with the support of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the former USSR, entered the city of Khojaly, killing hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Having honored the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide, the minister said that the Khojaly genocide, imprinted in the national memory of the Azerbaijani people, is not forgotten.

The official underlined that the atrocities committed during the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, the war crimes against the civilian population of the Azerbaijani cities of Ganja, Barda, Terter during the Second Karabakh War are based on Armenia's policy of ethnic hatred and racial discrimination against Azerbaijanis.

"Despite the military-political provocations committed by Armenia, which impede the process of peace and normalization in the post-conflict period, as well as steps aimed at manipulating the international community, Azerbaijan is determined to promote a peaceful agenda aimed at establishing peace and security in the region," the minister added.

AGRESSIVE POLICY SHOULD BE ABONDONED FOR PEACE

Furthermore, he stressed that Armenia continued its atrocious crimes during the 2020 second Karabakh war in Azerbaijan’s Barda and Ganja after Khojaly and if now wants peace, then it must abandon such an aggressive policy.

Then, the performance of the Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theater dedicated to the Khojaly genocide was presented under the title "Khojaly - it was."

The Khojaly genocide is seen as the pinnacle of the systematic crimes and atrocities committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis.

613 CIVILIANS WAS KILLED 

As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 Azerbaijani civilians, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly people were killed. Simultaneously, 487 civilians were seriously injured, and 1,275 people were kidnapped. The fate of 150 hostages, including 68 women and 26 children remains unknown.

During the genocide, 56 people were killed with extreme cruelty, with their heads peeled off, various limbs severed, eyes removed, and pregnant women's bellies pierced with bayonets. As a result, eight families were utterly destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children were orphaned.

Azerbaijan annually commemorates the victims of the Khojaly genocide on February 26.

(Azer News)