Defense Ministry staff honors little Zahra's memory
By Rashid Shirinov
A group of servicemen of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry attended a ceremony of the 40th deathday of two-year Azerbaijani civilian Zahra and her grandmother killed by the Armenian Armed Forces.
On July 4, the Armenian armed forces using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli region. As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to a hospital and was operated on.
The servicemen, addressing the ceremony, once again offered condolences to the family members of the victims of the Armenian vandalism. They noted that the blood of innocent people will be avenged and the enemy will receive a decent rebuff, Azertac reported on August 14.
The officers added that despite this tragedy, the Azerbaijani side never opens fire on Armenian civilians.
The participants of the ceremony later heard "Innocent Zahra" elegy written by honored art worker Abdulla Gurbani. He also spoke about the new projects of the Defense Ministry – the book " Victims of the Armenian aggression: innocent babies" dedicated to the memory of little Zahra, and a short documentary film "Innocent Zahra."
The family members of Zahra and her grandmother, the region elders and representatives of the public, in turn, noted with appreciation that Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov arrived at the scene immediately after the tragedy and met with relatives of the victims. They hailed the support provided to them in those difficult days, and thanked for the attention and care.
Armenia constantly resorts to vile military provocations with the aim to kill Azerbaijani citizens who live their quiet life in frontline settlements. However, the international community turns a blind eye to these terrible crimes, as Armenia still remains unpunished for them.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 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 regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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