(MENAFN- AzerNews) Today marks the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly
genocide. Until the early 1990s, this small town was one of the
hundredth townlets in Karabakh, where Armenian separatism reared
its ugly head and plunged the entire South Caucasus into one of the
deadliest and most tragic conflicts that has been going on for over
30 years.
February 26 is the next anniversary of the Occupation of the
Azerbaijani city of Khojaly by the Armenian armed forces with the
participation of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the former
USSR, made up mainly of Armenians, and the Khojaly genocide.
On the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian military
formations, comprising bloody butchers attacked the city of Khojaly
with the help of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of Russia. Some
2,500 residents of the city moved in the direction of Agdam to
escape the imminent carnage that was in the making against unarmed
people – mainly children, women, and the elderly.
Everything was preplanned, and possible escape ways were either
mined or taken under control to prevent their rescue since
Armenians had already plotted what they committed - genocide.
The next massacre committed by the Armenian aggressors against
the people of Azerbaijan ended the lives of 613 people, including
106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people. 1,275 civilians were
captured, the fate of 150 is still unknown; 475 people were
disabled. Eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children
lost both parents, and 130 children lost one of their parents.
In 1994, on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, the Milli Majlis
adopted a special resolution 'February 26 - Khojaly Genocide Day'.
In the document, the causes of the incident and the culprits were
named in detail.
In Baku's Xatai district, a monument named 'Mother's call' was
erected in memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide.
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation also works systematically and
consistently in the direction of conveying the facts about the
Khojaly genocide to the world. With the support and organization of
the Heydar Foundation, pickets, a series of events, exhibitions,
and memorial ceremonies are held in several countries of the world
within the framework of a special project related to the
genocide.
'Justice for Khojaly!' announced at the initiative of Leyla
Aliyeva is increasing the efficiency of the campaign year by year.
The purpose of the events held within the framework of this
campaign is to give a legal and political evaluation of the crime
in Khojaly and to achieve recognition of the Khojaly genocide by
the whole world.
It is no coincidence that in January 2012, at the VII session of
the Parliamentary Union of the member states of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, in Palembang, Indonesia, the parliamentary
representatives from 51 countries adopted a relevant resolution on
recognizing the Khojaly tragedy as genocide at the international
level.
'Justice for Khojaly!' the international information campaign is
currently being successfully implemented in dozens of countries
around the world and is aimed at recognizing the tragedy at the
moral and political-legal levels.
Currently, Pakistan, Mexico, Czech Republic, Colombia, Bosnia,
and Herzegovina, etc. parliaments of the countries recognized the
Khojaly tragedy as genocide and a criminal act against Azerbaijan.
In addition, the Khojaly genocide was recognized by the legislative
bodies of dozens of US states.
Currently, IDPs from Khojaly have temporarily settled in 50
cities and districts of the country.
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