Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Los Angeles Police Department is searching for an Armenian national involved in the attack on Azerbaijanis during a rally held outside the Azerbaijani Consulate in Brentwood on July 21.

The police statement asking for help to locate the suspect has been broadcast in a Los-Angeles-based TV channel. According to the police report, the wanted man, accompanied by two others, hit an Azerbaijani man in the head with their fists and threw him to the ground.

Seven Azerbaijanis, including a police officer, were injured when a small group of Azerbaijanis were attacked by a large group of Armenians outside of the Azerbaijani consulate on July 21. Four Azerbaijanis were hospitalized as a result of the attack. LAPD is investigating at least three of these assaults as hate crimes.

It should be noted that the attack on Azerbaijanis were praised by Armenian social media users. One Armenian Facebook user praised the attack, saying: "Death toll of Aziks will rise soon in LA. Good job brothers!!!"

Earlier, social media campaigns managed by Armenian hate groups asked for information that reveals the home addresses of Azerbaijanis and Turks living in Los Angeles.

One Instagram account “armo_bountyhunters” with Armenian flag offered Bitcoin payment of $500 for information on the whereabouts of local Azerbaijanis and Turks in Los Angeles.

Armenians stepped-up hate crimes against Azerbaijanis following the cross-border clashes initiated with Armenian forces firing artillery at Azerbaijani positions in Tovuz on July 12. Azerbaijan retaliated by destroying Armenian military positions, equipment and manpower. Twelve Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, and a civilian were killed during Armenian attacks.

Belgium has been another venue of aggression by Armenian nationalist groups against Azerbaijani civilians in the aftermath of cross-border clashes. Police in Belgium arrested 17 Armenians following violent attack on Azerbaijanis outside of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Belgium on July 22. Six members of the Azerbaijani diaspora were attacked by Armenians who threw stones, sharp cutting tools and explosives at them outside of the embassy building.

On July 27, the Nikulinskiy court in Moscow arrested five Armenians for attacking Azerbaijanis in the Russian capital.

Apart from attacking diplomatic missions, groups of Armenians also targeted individual Azerbaijanis. A video circulated in social media on July 23 showed a group of up to ten Armenians violently beating an Azerbaijani man covered in blood and verbally insulting him.

On August 2, members of the Armenian community armed with cold steel, firearm and baseball bats attacked two Azerbaijanis by crushing their cars in Toronto, Canada. As a result of the incident, an Azerbaijani man was injured in his leg and was hospitalized after receiving the first medical aid. The car of the victims was severely damaged.

Protests rallies against Armenia’s military provocation on the Azerbaijani- Armenian state border were held by Azerbaijanis in various European countries such as The Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Lithuania, Germany etc, as well as in United Kingdom, U.S., Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Israel.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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