Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Exactly 27 years ago, the Armenian military units carried out an act of genocide in the Khojaly city with a population of 7,000 on February 26, 1992.

During the Khojaly genocide, 613 people were killed, 1,000 civilians of various ages became disabled as a result of the bullet wounds received. As many as 106 women, 63 young children, 70 old men were killed, eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, 130 - one of the parents. On the night of the tragedy, 1,275 civilians were captured, and the fate of 150 of them is still unknown.

This genocide of ethnic Azerbaijanis was carried out by the Armenian military with particular ruthlessness and unthinkable brutality.

The second Battalion of the 366th Regiment of the Soviet Army under the command of Major Seyran Ohanyan, the 3rd Battalion under the command of Evgeny Nabokikhin, the Chief of Staff of the first Battalion Valery Chitchyan and over 50 Armenian officers and warrant officers participated in the attack on the city.

Some of the residents who tried to flee were killed in pre-arranged ambushes. In four days only 200 corpses were delivered from Khojaly to Agdam, facts of abuse of dozens of corpses were recorded.

In Aghdam, a forensic medical examination of 181 corpses was carried out. During the examination, it was established that the cause of 151 people’s death was bullet wounds, 20 died of shrapnel wounds, 10 people died of blows with blunt objects. The human rights center also noted the fact of scalping living people.

The Khojaly genocide entered the history of Azerbaijan as one of the most terrible and tragic pages. Over 250,000 Azerbaijanis living on their historical lands were expelled from Armenia in 1988, and thus Armenia became a mono-ethnic state.

The events that have unfolded around Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988 led to the destruction of villages, cities, the death of tens of thousands of innocent people, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands.

Armenia, in spite of all international norms, is trying to annex Nagorno-Karabakh to itself, while demonstrating readiness for crimes and atrocities. The Khojaly genocide, which is the tragedy of the 20th century, was the result of this aggressive and criminal policy of the Armenians. This tragedy is one of the most serious crimes directed not only against the Azerbaijani people but also against all mankind. Khojaly genocide ranks with such horrific tragedies of the century as Khatyn, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Songmi.

The Khojaly genocide, committed with extreme cruelty, horrified Russian, Georgian, English, French, German, American journalists, as well as journalists and publicists from other countries.

This crime should not go unpunished. The military-political aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan must be condemned by the world community. International organizations, parliaments of the world should give a political and legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide, committed by Armenia on the territory of Azerbaijan, as a true genocide.

Today, the Khojaly genocide has been recognized and condemned by 17 countries of the world: Mexico, Pakistan, Colombia, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan, Panama, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Sudan, Slovenia, Romania, Indonesia, Paraguay, Djibouti and Scotland.

Moreover, 24 states of the United States such as Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin recognize the Khojaly genocide.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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