The horrible tragedy of the 20th century: 32 years have passed since the Khojaly genocide

It is the next anniversary of the Khojaly massacre, one of the most horrible and bloody tragedies in human history. 32 years have passed since the tragedy.

In 1988, Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan started a separatist movement. The hypocritical policy of the imperial leadership and the support of Armenia further encouraged the separatists. The population of Azerbaijani villages in Nagorno-Karabakh was subjected to armed attacks, killed and maimed. Before Khojaly, Armenians had committed bloody massacres in several villages. Khojaly, which is in the most strategic position, was chosen as the next target.

On the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces attacked the city of Khojaly with the participation of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the former Soviet troops. The civilians of Aliyan were shot and driven out of their homes. As a result of this attack, genocide was committed against the local population, the city was destroyed. Armenian bandits violated the laws of war and did not even give a peaceful passage to the besieged population. Some people were shot on the road and froze to death.

In this bloody massacre, 613 residents of Khojaly, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 elderly people, were brutally murdered, 8 families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one of their parents. 487 people, including 76 children, were seriously injured. 56 of the murdered people were killed with special cruelty, burned alive, scalped, and subjected to other terrible tortures. At the same time, the fate of 150 people, including 68 women and 26 children, remains unknown out of 1275 residents who were taken hostage at that time.

In the Khojaly massacre, the Geneva Conventions "On the Protection of War Victims", as well as "On the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide", "Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment", "Abolition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination" The provisions of the "Children's Rights" conventions, "Civil and political rights", "Economic, social and cultural rights" international pacts, especially people's right to life, have been grossly violated.

On the initiative of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, 30 years ago, the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan gave the first political and legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide and declared February 26 as the Khojaly Genocide Day.

Over the past years, the state of Azerbaijan has consistently worked to convey the truth about the crimes committed by Armenian nationalists against our people, including the Khojaly genocide, to the world community, and to make it known as a genocide. Mehriban Aliyeva, the First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, rendered great services in conveying the truth about the tragedy to the world community. "Justice for Khojaly!" at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, the vice-president of the foundation. A series of events are held every year as part of the international campaign. So far, more than 10 countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have recognized the Khojaly tragedy as a genocide.

In 2020, as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur were freed from the occupation of Armenia. With the 23-hour local anti-terror operations carried out on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan restored its sovereign rights over Khankendi, Khojaly, Aghdara, Khojavend, Askaran. The Karabakh conflict was consigned to the archives of history.

Today, Khojaly is free as a result of the historic victory of our heroic army led by the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. Within the framework of the great return project, Karabakh will be repopulated, and life will start again in our towns and villages destroyed by Armenians. However, the Khojaly genocide, which is the most terrible tragedy of the 20th century, will never be forgotten.

We remember the dear memory of all our compatriots who were killed in Khojaly, and we pray for God's mercy on them. May God have mercy on our dear martyrs who freed our ancient homeland from the enemy. We wish good health to our veterans. Khojaly victims will never be forgotten. Justice for Khojaly!