Armenian military forces committed genocide acts in the town of Khojaly, Azerbaijan, with the population of 7,000 people on Feb. 26 1992. There were 3,000 people in the town at the time of Armenian military forces' attack. Most part of the population had to leave town during four months blockade. 613 people were killed, 1,000 peaceful people of different age became invalid during Khojaly genocide. 106 women, 63 children, 70 old men were killed. 8 families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parents, while 25 both of them. 1,275 peace residents were taken hostages, while the fate of 150 of them is still unknown.

These were committed by Armenian military with special mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism. 2nd battalion of 366th regiment under the command of Major Oganyan Seyran Mushegovich, third battalion under the command of Yevgeniy Nabokhin, staff chief of 1st battalion Chitchyan Valeriy and more than 50 officers and ensigns, serving in regiment took part in the attack. ("From the investigation materials concerning Khojaly occupation").

A part of town residents, attempted to flee, were killed by Armenians, waiting in the ambushes. According to the Russian remedial centre Memorial, 200 corpses had been brought from Khojali to Agdam for 4 days, tens of humiliation facts have been discovered on them. 181 corpses (130 men and 51 women) were made forensic medical examination in Aghdam. According to the examination 151 persons dead in result of bullet wound, 20 - missile wound, 10 people were killed with blunt instrument. Remedial centre discovered fact of scalping of alive man.

The Khojaly genocide is one of the most terrible and tragic pages of Azerbaijan history. Azerbaijan's national leader Heydar Aliyev said in his speech addressed to the nation of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Khojaly genocide: "This merciless and cruel genocide was the most dreadful mass terror act in the history of humankind."

Azerbaijan has endured ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenian nationalist-chauvinists for 200 years. The people of Azerbaijan were deported from their historical lands and became refugees and internally displaced persons because of Armenian occupation. Azerbaijanis were also forced from their historical lands during the Soviet period. 150,000 Azerbaijanis were deported from Armenia and placed in the Kur-Araz plain from1948-1953. 250,000 Azerbaijanis were forced from their historical territories in 1988 and Armenia became a mono-ethnical state. The Nagorno-Karabakh events, which began in 1988 along with continuous efforts to implement the Armenian desire of building a state from sea to sea, led to the destruction of towns and villages, murder of thousands of innocent people, as well as the exile of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their native lands.

The Armenian government wanted to annex Nagorno-Karabakh despite international legal norms and demonstrates their readiness to resort to any kind of crime and barbarism for the sake of its ideology. The Khojaly genocide - the tragedy of the 20th century - was a result of this aggressive and criminal policy. This tragedy, which took place in the 20th century was one of the most serious crimes not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but humanity as a whole. The Khojaly genocide is comparable to the genocides in Khatin, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Songmi.

What was Armenians' purpose in Khojaly? On one hand that was the liquidation of the strategic hindrance in the form of Azerbaijani residents of the mountainous part of Nagorno-Karabakh. On the other hand that was the razing of Khojaly to the ground. Because Khojaly was an inhabited place, which reflected the history and traditions of Azerbaijan since the ancient times. This distinct culture is classified as Khojaly-Gadabay in the Azerbaijani history. Cromlechs, dolmens, Cyclops, tumuluses of Khojaly, as well as different housing wares are the patterns of material culture that reflect the dynamics of social development. The destruction of all these material culture monuments and Khojaly graveyard - one of the most ancient cemeteries in history - after the Armenian occupation is are obvious examples of Armenian barbarism and aggression against the world culture.

The city was wiped off the face of the earth. Fifty-six people were brutally killed. They had been burned alive and beheaded. Their faces had been skinned. Even the eyes of infants had been gorged out, while the bellies of pregnant women had been sliced upon with bayonets.

Armenians desecrated the corpses. The events that took place during the Khojali tragedy can be called nothing less than unhuman and horrific. 

Antiga, a Khojali resident, was burned alive because she refused to say the area "was part of Great Armenia.” Sariyya Talibova witnessed these horrorific events: “They took us to an Armenian cemetery … They sacrificed four Mehseti Turks and three Azerbaijanis over the graves of Armenian fighters ...  Later they brought two Azerbaijanis to the cemetery wearing an army uniform. They pulled their eyes out of their heads with a sharp iron rod.”

Forbidden bullets of 5.45 caliber and chemical weapons were used in Khojaly during the attack. All these facts prove that Armenia committed genocide against civil people, violating Geneva Convention protocol concerning war rules.

Khojaly genocide terrified journalists and publicists of Russia, Georgia, Great Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S.

Khojaly refugees write in their address to the UN, the European Union, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe: It is already more than 10 years as we, persons become refugees, appeal with heavy art and large hope to peaceful nations of the world, international organizations. We ask you not to remain indifferent about disaster, happened with us in result of Armenian aggression. We believe that authoritative international organizations like the UN, EU and OSCE, peaceful states will take measures against aggression and tyranny of Armenia.

International conventions, laws, passed in the world, criticize genocides like Khojaly tragedy and call them inadmissible. Azerbaijan nation has all legal base to bring suit against the Armenian Republic in the International court of the UN, guiding by convention "Warning and punishment of genocide crime". The world must know that this crime was directed not only against Azerbaijani nation, but also whole civilized world, mankind. Persons like Seyran Ohanyan, Serj Sarkisyan (Sargsyan), as well as Robert Kocharyan, holding high state posts at present, and others must answer before international court.

The crime should not remain without punishment. Armenian military-political aggression must be condemned by world community. International organizations, parliaments of the world states must give political-legal appraisal of Khojaly genocide - military crime, committed by the Armenian Republic in the Azerbaijan territories.

Today.Az