Azerbaijanis hold protest rally on Khojaly genocide [PHOTO]

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

More than 250 Azerbaijanis have held a protest rally to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Khojaly genocide in Munich, Germany.

The protest rally was held outside Bayerischer Hof hotel, which hosts annual Munich Security Conference, Azertac reported.

The protesters held up posters and chanted slogans such as “Justice for Khojaly!”, “Armenia, stop occupation and terror!”, “We will certainly liberate our lands!”, “Freedom for Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev!”, “Khojaly genocide is a crime against humanity!”, “We say no to terrorism and genocide!”.

The rally was co-organized by European Azerbaijanis Congress, Bielefeld Azerbaijan Cultural Center, Baku Nurnberg Cultural and Educational Society, as well as Munich-based Turkish diaspora organizations.

Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1992.

About 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.