Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Canada marked January 20 as a national day of mourning.

Members of Azerbaijani community, living in Canada took part at the event.

Addressing the event, Ramil Huseynli, Charge d'Affaires gave information about the January 20 tragedy. He referred to it as a turning point in the history of Azerbaijan’s independence.

Huseynli noted that January 20 has been remained in the memory of the nation as a tragedy, marking a heroic and glorious page in the history of Azerbaijan.

Other diaspora's members also spoke about the tragedy. They mentioned this day as a great achievement in the formation of Azerbaijani independence and sovereignty.

Following the event, the participants commemorated the victims of the tragedy with a moment of silence.

During the event, a documentary about the tragedy was screened for the guests. The photos of victims were also put on display.

From January 19^th night till 20^{th ,} 1990, 26,000 hostile and aggressive-minded Soviet special forces called "Alfa" entered Baku and committed atrocities against the Azerbaijani people. They stormed and murdered hundreds of civilians without declaring a state of emergency.

Though the death toll is still disputed to this day, reports say at least 130 people died from wounds received during the subsequent violent confrontations. A vast majority of the casualties were civilians including over 700 wounded.