U.S. city mayor inks document on Khojaly genocide anniversary
By Sabina Mammadli
Florida Hallandale Beach City Mayor Joy Cooper has signed a proclamation on the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly Genocide, Trend has reported.
The mayor presented the proclamation to members of the Azerbaijani Diaspora community in Florida.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus began in 1988 when Armenia asserted territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Following the conflict, Armenian military forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts. During the conflict, Armenian military forces perpetrated genocide against civilians throughout the night of February 25 to 26, 1992, murdering 613 people, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly.
The proclamation noted that in 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, which demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
The proclamation stressed that the UN General Assembly, the European Parliament, PACE, the OSCE, the US State Department and the White House have always supported Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Every year on February 26, Azerbaijan commemorates the Khojaly genocide victims at the initiative of late national leader Heydar Aliyev.
it should be noted that this heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.