34 years have passed since the genocide committed by Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly.
Modern.az reports that on the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian military units, with the help of Russia's 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment, occupied the city of Khojaly and committed genocide against the peaceful population living there - Azerbaijanis.
Armenian armed units, with the help of the armored vehicles and military personnel of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment, which had been dislocated in the city of Khankendi since the Soviet era, attacked the city of Khojaly on February 25, 1992. 2500 residents of the besieged city moved in the direction of Aghdam to escape. However, Armenians lying in ambush shot the peaceful residents. As a result of the Khojaly genocide, a tragedy of the century, 613 Khojaly residents were killed, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly men and women; 8 families were completely annihilated; 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. 487 people were wounded by enemy bullets, including 76 children. 1275 people were taken hostage. The fate of 150 of the hostages, including 68 women and 26 children, remains unknown to this day.
According to official estimates, more than 140 million manats (approximately 170 million US dollars) in damage was inflicted upon the Azerbaijani state and its citizens due to the destruction and looting of state property and private property in connection with the occupation of Khojaly city by illegal Armenian armed units.
In 1993, a monument was erected in the Khatai district of Baku in memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide.
In 1994, at the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, the National Assembly adopted a special resolution “On February 26 - Khojaly Genocide Day”. The document detailed the causes of the incident and those responsible.
Since February 2009, the “Justice for Khojaly” campaign has been conducted at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, the General Coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue of the Youth Forum of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC-YF). The campaign aims to inform the international community about the Khojaly tragedy, ensure its moral and political assessment in the international arena, and its remembrance at an international level. The international coordination of the campaign is carried out via the website www.justiceforkhojaly.org.
The anniversary of the Khojaly genocide is commemorated with sorrow every year in Azerbaijan and many countries around the world. Azerbaijani embassies and diaspora organizations annually organize commemoration ceremonies and hold conferences in the countries where they operate on February 26. At these events, photo stands and documentary films depicting the atrocities committed by Armenians in Khojaly are displayed, and books reflecting the truths of the genocide are exhibited.
Currently, the national legislative bodies of nearly 20 states, as well as 24 US states, and also the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of Turkic States, have adopted numerous resolutions and decisions condemning the massacre of the civilian population in Khojaly and evaluating it as an act of genocide and a crime against humanity.
It should be noted that the city of Khojaly was cleared of separatists on September 19-20, 2023, as a result of local anti-terror measures carried out by the Azerbaijani Army in Karabakh. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, raised the State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the city of Khojaly on October 15, 2023. The waving of the Azerbaijani Flag in this city once again demonstrates that the blood of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy has not been left unavenged.
