Azernews.Az

Moldovan Ombudsman Aurelia Grigoriu has blamed the Armenians for murdering innocent people in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly as she addressed an international conference at the parliament of Armenia in Yerevan, Azertag state news agency reported.

"It is Armenians who committed Khojaly Genocide," Grigoriu said at the European Conference on Protection of Human Rights in Frozen Conflict Zones. "Armenia continues to occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands."

The Moldovan Ombudsman noted that this is the fact recognized by the international community.
Grigoriu`s remarks drew applause from the audience.

Late into the night of February 25, 1992, the town of Khojaly, situated within the administrative borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, 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 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.