Ombudswoman calls int'l community to act against Armenia's war crimes
By Sabina Mammadli
Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has urged the international community to take necessary measures in response to Armenia's war crimes, such as the mass burial site just discovered in Khojavand District.
The appeal noted that another mass grave was found in the liberated Edilli village of Khojavand District, with the remains of 12 people, whose hands and feet were tied before the killing. The items found near the remains suggest they were servicemen. This proves once again the torture and murder of Azerbaijani prisoners of war by Armenia.
Aliyeva stressed that the discovered remains are likely to belong to Azerbaijani servicemen, who went missing during the first Karabakh war, whose fate is still unknown. She highlighted that despite repeated appeals, Armenia refused to provide information on the fate of the missing, as well as on mass grave locations, in order to conceal its war crimes from the world community.
“This confirms Armenia's infringing upon the requirements of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its ethnic hatred policy towards Azerbaijanis,” she said.
The ombudswoman added that the perpetrators of war crimes must be held accountable.
Spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva recalled that another mass burial site of Azerbaijanis was also found in the Edilli village back in February 2022.
"To the attention of those, who talk about war crimes: since the first Karabakh war, 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing, many of them were tortured, killed, and buried in mass graves," Abdullayeva wrote on Twitter.
Similarly, Presidential aid Hikmat Hajiyev wrote that Edilli was used as a concentration camp for Azerbaijani hostages by Armenia.
"Mass grave of tortured/killed Azerbaijani militaries by Armenia during the 1st war identified in Edilli village. Edilli was used as a concentration camp for Azerbaijani hostages by Armenia. 4,000 Azerbaijani militaries/civilians remain missing. Armenia refuses to provide mass grave locations,” Hajiyev tweeted.
It should be noted that over 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing as a result of the First Karabakh War. It is believed that the vast majority of them were systematically killed and buried in mass graves.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
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