Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Several countries have recognized the Khojaly tragedy as genocide and condemned Armenia, said Azerbaijani ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova at the event on Human Rights Day, on December 10.

"Genocide committed by Armenians against the population of Azerbaijani city Khojaly is one of the most violent in the world history. Parliaments of several countries have adopted documents on recognition of Khojaly genocide and this process now is underway," she said.

Suleymanova said Azerbaijani authorities is carrying out important work in protecting the rights of citizens affected by the Khojaly genocide.

"As a result of this work, some countries recognized the Khojaly tragedy as genocide and condemned Armenia," she said.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

In 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 also 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.