28 years have passed since the day of Khojaly genocide
28 years have passed since the day of Khojaly genocide
28 years have passed since the genocide committed by the Armenians in the Azerbaijani Khojaly city. On the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian armed forces, with the support of the 366th Russian motorized rifle regiment, occupied Khojaly city and carried out brutal massacres against civilians - Azerbaijanis. Armenian armed forces, supported by armored vehicles and personnel of the 366th motorized rifle regiment stationed in the times of the USSR in Khankendi, launched an offensive on Khojaly on February 25. 2500 residents of the city, surrounded, tried to escape, moved in the direction of Agdam. However, the Armenians in ambush shot civilians. As a result of the genocide, which became the tragedy of the century, 613 civilians were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people - a total of 613 residents of Khojaly. 8 families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, 130 children lost one parent, 487 people were injured, including 76 children, 1275 people captured. The fate of 150 people, including 68 women and 26 children, is still unknown. According to official estimates, as a result of the occupation of Khojaly city by the illegal Armenian armed forces, the destruction and plunder of state and private property, the Azerbaijani state and its citizens suffered damage in the amount of $ 170 million. In 1993, a monument to the victims of the Khojaly genocide was erected in the Khatai district of Baku.
In 1994, at the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, the Milli Majlis adopted a special decision “About the Day of the Khojaly Genocide - February 26”. The document set out in details the causes and perpetrators of the tragedy. Since February 2009, with the initiative of the chief coordinator for intercultural dialogue of the Youth Forum of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Leyla Aliyeva, the Khojaly Justice Campaign launched. The purpose of the campaign is to educate international community relevant to Khojaly tragedy, and moral and political assessment of events by the international community. International campaign coordination is carried out through the website www.justiceforkhojaly.org. The anniversary of the Khojaly genocide is annually celebrated in Azerbaijan and many countries of the world. The embassies and diaspora organizations of Azerbaijan organize memorial ceremonies every year on February 26 and hold conferences. Photo events and documentaries showing the barbarism committed by the Armenians in Khojaly, as well as books telling the truth about this tragedy are shown at these events. It should be noted that the parliaments of 16 countries of the world, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, decided to recognize the Khojaly genocide.