Azerbaijanis remember Khojaly tragedy

The Jakarta Post   |  Wed, 02/27/2008 12:08 PM  |  World

Azerbaijanis worldwide, including those living in Indonesia, remembered on Tuesday the Khojaly tragedy, one of the worst in the history of the Caucasus region, the Azerbaijan Embassy in Jakarta said.

"The Khojaly tragedy was one of the most heinous crimes committed during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the embassy's second secretary for press affairs, Narmina Aslanova, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory, is currently occupied by Armenia.

Sixteen years ago, between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, 1992, the Armenian army, with the support of the former Soviet Union's 366th infantry regiment, invaded Khojaly and slaughtered hundreds of unarmed men, women and children.

"According to our records, 613 civilians were massacred, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people," Narmina said.

Armenian troops took 1,275 Khojaly residents hostage, she said.

Azerbaijanis have since observed Feb. 26 annually as the "Day of the Khojaly Genocide".

Armenian officials, who dispute the alleged death toll, refuse to take responsibility for the massacre at Khojaly, saying it occurred during a time of war.

Human Rights Watch has described the Khojaly tragedy as "the largest massacre to date in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh".

The New York Times reported "truck loads of bodies" and detailed Armenians "scalping" their victims in Khojaly.

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