Azernews.Az

Representatives of the Azerbaijani and Turkish diasporas in the Netherlands will organize a commemorative event marking the 21st anniversary of the Khojaly genocide in the Hague.

The event, to be arranged by the Association of Dutch friends of Azerbaijan, Union of Azerbaijani Women of the Netherlands Ana Vatan, the Netherlands-Azerbaijan-Turkey Cultural Center, Istiglal Party of Northern Azerbaijanis, and Society of the Azerbaijani Youth of the Netherlands, will take place near a Khojaly monument on February 24. Dutch state and government officials, as well as local and Turkish journalists will attend the event.

On February 26, a rally will be organized in the Hague, during which participants will walk from the Peace Palace to the Embassy of Armenia.

The event will also see diaspora activists distribute brochures on the Khojaly tragedy among local residents.

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.