Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan is exerting great effort in its quest to have the Khojaly genocide recognized by the international community, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said at a briefing today.

"We have witnessed the expansion of efforts towards the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by the world community," he said. "Yerevan is trying to hide its involvement in the Khojaly tragedy. But today great efforts are being exerted to get the genocide recognized by the world community."

He said that Armenia itself is well aware that it will fail to escape responsibility for these acts, genocide, which killed hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians.

"The resolutions on the recognition adopted in the state of Arkansas and the Romanian Parliament demonstrate that the international community has begun to understand the situation," he said. "The Foreign Ministry will continue exerting its efforts until the international community gives political and legal assessment of Khojaly events."

The Khojaly massacre is one of the most heinous and bloodiest events of the 20th century. Late into the night of February 25, 1992, the town of Khojaly came under intensive fire from the town of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by Armenian armed forces. At night the Armenian forces supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment completed the surrounding of the town already isolated due to ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population of the neighboring regions. The joint forces occupied the town, which was ruined by heavy artillery shelling.

Thousands of fleeing civilians were ambushed by Armenian forces. Punitive teams of the so-called NK defense army reached the unprotected civilians to slaughter them, mutilating and scalping some bodies. In just a few hours, 613 civilians were killed, including 106 women, 70 elderly and 83 children. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled. 56 people were killed with outrageous brutality, eight families were totally exterminated, and 25 children lost both parents, while 130 children lost at least one parent, in what became the most brutal punishment of civilians during the three years of the conflict's military phase. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.