The 30th Anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, Brutal scenes that will not be erased from the memory of Azerbaijanis

Azerbaijan commemorates the second anniversary of its victory over Armenia of the horrific “Khojaly” massacre committed by the Armenian and Soviet forces in 1992, and the Azerbaijani memory was imprinted with brutal and unforgettable scenes. What is the story?

“We have achieved part of the justice that the Khojaly victims deserve.” With these words, the Azerbaijanis summed up one of the most important motives for their recent war with Armenia, which ended with a decisive victory that ended the brutal 28-year occupation of the Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan commemorates the 30th anniversary, and the second after the victory, of one of the most heinous massacres in the Azerbaijani territories.

Kill "mercilessly"

The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out in 1991 and ended three years later with Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani lands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of its people, until the final victory and Azerbaijan’s restoration of its lands in November 2020.

The Khojaly massacre pushed the Azerbaijani forces into their last battle, as the mutilated faces of the victims were etched deep into the memory of the people.

In October 1991, Armenia surrounded the Khojaly region, which is located within the region of "Karabakh", and subjected it to a harsh siege that prevented entry and exit, considering it a vital target in its battle with Azerbaijan. Despite the steadfastness of the Azeri army to the siege, the humanitarian conditions gradually deteriorated until they diminish The population of the area from 7 thousand to only two thousand in less than a year.

Many civilians who tried to escape the siege died of starvation or harsh cold in the surrounding forests and mountains, and those who remained witnessed the horrific massacre.

“They only knew about killing and they were brutally killing our people,” recalls Nael Hasanouf, a resident of the area who survived the massacre and was later displaced. “They had no mercy.”

Brutal killing and mutilation of corpses

On February 26, 1992, Armenian soldiers backed by the forces of the Soviet 366th Regiment entered, in cold blood, one of the most heinous massacres of the twentieth century.

Within hours, 613 Azerbaijani citizens were killed, including 106 women, 70 elderly people and 63 children, while more than 1,200 Azerbaijanis were taken prisoner, 150 of whom are missing until today.

During the massacre, 8 entire families disappeared, 25 children lost a father and a mother, while 130 children lost a parent. Only 487 people survived from the area's residents, including 76 children, most of whom were severely injured.

As for the material damage, it amounted to about $170 million.

"Justice for Khojaly"

Azerbaijan has launched an extensive official campaign entitled "Justice for Khojaly" since 2008, during which it revealed many ugly facts that occurred during the massacre.

The testimonies of the survivors and forensic examinations revealed that the residents of the area were subjected to brutal torture by the Armenian forces, which included skinning the heads and mutilating the bodies by cutting their organs without discrimination between women, children and the elderly.

The videos also showed the beheading of the victims, the burning of corpses, and the slashing of pregnant women's stomachs.

Human Rights Watch described the massacre as "unexplained brutality", while the European Court of Human Rights considered it "equivalent to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

As a result of this heinous massacre and the terror that it spread throughout the region, more than a million Azerbaijani citizens were forced to leave their homes, and Armenia occupied about 20% of the Azerbaijani lands, until the Azerbaijani victory was achieved a few months ago.