Turkish envoy: Khojaly tragedy - one of most cruel events of 20th century

By Trend

Failure to hold accountable the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide, despite the fact that 28 years have passed since the tragedy, is extremely unfair, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said while visiting the memorial complex of the Khojaly victims, Trend reports.

The ambassador noted that the Khojaly tragedy is one of the most cruel and mournful events of the 20th century.

"I want to publicly declare that this case will not be closed until the perpetrators of this tragedy are punished. The Republic of Turkey, as always, is by Azerbaijan's side in its difficult days. We are one nation, two states," Erkan Ozoral 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.