Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

The memory of the Khojaly tragedy victims was revered in Hague, Netherlands,AzerTag state news agency reported.

The rally staged by the Azerbaijani-Turkish Cultural Center was attended by head of The Hague Interreligious Dialogue Platform Bart en Broek, prominent Dutch journalist Jack Kroes, representatives of Azerbaijani and Turkey embassies, writer Orhan Aras, and politicians and local residents.

Then, 83 white balloons with the name of killed babies were released.

President of the Dutch Azerbaijan-Turkey Cultural Association Ilhan Ashkin said : "Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan, Hungary, and other countries recognized the Khojaly massacre as genocide. We are seeking to have this decision made in the Netherlands too. We are trying to initiate discussions on this event in the Dutch Parliament. We plan to hold a signature gathering campaign".

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.