26 February 2020, 09:23
Residents of Azerbaijan commemorate victims of massacre in Khojaly
On the eve of the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, during the assault of which over 600 people perished, mourning events were held in Azerbaijan and abroad.
On February 26, 1992, during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian military servicemen stormed the town of Khojaly, populated mainly by Azerbaijanis. There were many sick and wounded people, as well as women and elderly people and children in the city. According to the Azerbaijani authorities, 613 civilians were killed, including 63 children. Other 1275 civilians were taken hostage. The fate of 150 of them is unknown to this day.
Baku residents commemorate Khojaly casualties near the memorial complex "Mother's Call". Mourning events to pay tribute to the casualties will be held in the country's mosques, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan.
The events in Khojaly became one of the monstrous crimes against humanity committed in the 20th century, said Tofig Dadashev, an expert at the NGO "Journalists in Extreme Conditions". In his opinion, a new conflict could flare up at any moment, since the "status quo" is very fragile.
The Khojaly residents who managed to survive in the tragedy shared their memories of those days. According to Djeiran Azizova, since the fall of 1991, the town was in complete blockade. "In just one night, I lost 68 relatives," she said.
The assault of Khojaly began after intense shelling, Sakhib Imani has recalled.
"They shot indiscriminately – the elderly, women and babies. My father, a brother, and three relatives were killed there. Of the few, I was lucky to break through to Agdam," he said.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 26, 2020 at 05:01 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
