Azernews.Az

Deputy Chairman of the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament and Chairman of the Canada-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Barry Devolin will discuss the issue of adopting a resolution by the Canadian Parliament in connection with the Khojaly genocide in Baku. Devolin made this statement for journalists in Baku.

A Canadian delegation began its visit to Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

Devolin said that such a proposal was not discussed in the Canadian Parliament up till now.
"Discussing the issue of adopting a resolution by the Canadian Parliament in connection with the Khojaly genocide will be one of the topics during a meeting with Azerbaijani colleagues," Devolin said.

The town of Khojaly was situated within the administrative borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Its population constituted over 7,000 people.

Late into the night of February 25, 1992, Khojaly came under intensive fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by Armenian armed forces. 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 the Armenian forces. Punitive teams of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh defense army reached the unprotected civilians to slaughter them, mutilating and scalping some of the bodies. 613 civilians, including 106 women, 70 elderly and 83 children, were killed in the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, and 25 children lost both parents, while 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.

The Canadian delegation visit is jointly organised by the Azerbaijani embassy in Canada, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party and the Azerbaijani Parliament. Along with Devolin, the delegation also includes the member of the House of Commons Vladislav Leeson and Senators Jon Martin and Salma Attulahdzhan.

During the visit, the delegation will meet with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Oktay Asadov and hold talks with representatives of various political parties. It will also participate at a meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament to be held on Friday. The visit ends on Sunday.