Turkish Presidential Administration: Int’l community shouldn’t turn blind eye to Khojaly tragedy

By Trend

The international community shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the Khojaly tragedy in Azerbaijan, a source in the Turkish Presidential Administration told Trend on Feb. 26.

“The bloody massacre of Azerbaijani civilians is a black spot on the conscience of mankind,” the Turkish Presidential Administration said.

Commenting on the 28th anniversary of the genocide in Khojaly town, the administration emphasized that Turkey expects due assessment of the Khojaly tragedy by the international community.

It was also noted that Turkey shares the pain of Azerbaijani brothers, remembers and will never forget about this tragedy.

The administration reminded that Turkey, as before, urges Armenia to end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and return these lands to their rightful owners. Turkey has always supported and will continue to support Azerbaijan in all directions, the source added.

“Turkey expresses sincere condolences to the Azerbaijani people in connection with the terrible tragedy in Khojaly,” the administration said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.