Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended a commemorative ceremony on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide on February 26.

President Aliyev put a wreath at the monument.

Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Parliamentary Speaker Ogtay Asadov, Head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev and First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva laid flowers at the memorial.

The commemorative ceremony was attended by state and government officials, MPs, ministers, heads of committees and companies, leaders of religious confessions, as well as Khojaly genocide survivors.

Also, thousands of Baku residents have arrived at the Khojaly memorial to pay tribute to victims of the genocide.

Late into the night from February 25 to 26, 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.

There were 3,000 people in the town when the Armenian military forces attacked, as the most part of the population had to leave town during 4-month blockade. The Armenian armed 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.

As many as 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both 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.