Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The European Azerbaijanis Congress has sent an appeal to chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok and member of Committee on Human Rights Elisabeth Jeggle urging them to recognize as a war crime the genocide of Azerbaijani civilians committed in the town of Khojaly by the Armenians 22 years ago.

In the appeal, sent to 300 members of the European Parliament, the Congress called on the European Parliamentarians to voice their position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in compliance with international legal norms.

The Congress urged the European Parliament members to ensure investigation of the Khojaly genocide by an international expert commission. It also urges the heads of state of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries to make efforts towards finding a solution to the conflict and ensuring peace.

The Congress also expresses hope that the European Parliament will take the appeal into consideration and contribute to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

In 1992, the town of Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

613 civilians including 106 women, 70 elderly, and 83 children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 civilians were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both their parents, and 130 children lost one parent.

Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown. Civilians were shot at close range, scalped, and burned alive. Some had their eyes gouged out and others were beheaded.