In photos: Commemorating Khojaly massacre, pursuing justice 32 years on
While the liberation of the occupied territories has brought a sense of relief to Azerbaijanis, they are now seeking justice for the Khojaly massacre, which stands as one of the bloodiest massacres of the 20th century.
February 25th marks the 32nd anniversary of what is now known as the Khojaly massacre – the darkest few hours in the history of Azerbaijan. / Photo: AA Archive
It has been 32 years since the tragic Khojaly massacre, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians, yet its painful memory remains vivid in the hearts of the victims.
Armenian troops committed one of the bloodiest massacres of the 20th century by killing over 600 civilians and brutally torturing captives in the small town of Khojaly in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region.
Every year, Azerbaijanis pay tribute to the memory of those lost in Khojaly. However, since Azerbaijani forces successfully liberated Karabakh in September 2020, after the 44-day Karabakh War that ended with a truce brokered by Russia, they have commemorated their fallen as triumphant heroes.
The liberation of Karabakh ended 30 years of Armenian occupation in Azerbaijani territories and also opened the door to normalisation between Baku and Yerevan. What Azerbaijanis now seek is the prosecution of those responsible for the Khojaly Massacre and the establishment of justice.
Survivors said Armenian soldiers stacked the bodies of women and children in piles and mutilated their victims in the worst ways imaginable.
The road to massacre
The chain of events leading to the massacre began in the second half of the 1980s with the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Armenia claimed rights to the mountainous part of the Karabakh region, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.
As a result of the policies pursued by the Soviet Union over the years, the Armenian population was the majority in the region, which, however, legally belonged to Azerbaijan.
Tensions escalated when Armenians in the Karabakh region expressed their desire to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia in 1988. The Karabakh Parliament declared its annexation to Armenia. In response, Azerbaijan abolished the autonomous status of Karabakh.
Months of escalating tensions ultimately led to an unavoidable conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Supported by the Russian army, Armenian forces seized control of Khojaly town in the final days of 1991. Khojaly, having the region's only airport and holding significant strategic value, fell under Armenian occupation.
Rough estimates by Azerbaijan authorities and independent agencies put the number of ethnic- Azerbaijanis killed in the 1991-1994 war at over 30,000.
An overnight slaughter
During the months-long Armenian occupation, food aid to the city could only be delivered by air, even dropped by helicopters, since the troops seized the roads to Khojaly and the surrounding villages.
Intensifying their attacks in February 1992, Armenian forces began a heavy attack on the evening of February 25. The massacre lasted until the morning of February 26, claiming the lives of 613 people.
In Khojaly, which was home to 7,000 people, 106 women, 70 elderly, and 63 children lost their lives in vulnerable conditions. From the massacre, 487 people survived with severe injuries, Armenian forces took 1,275 people prisoner, and 150 of them are still missing.
Some 150 of the 1,275 Azerbaijanis captured by the Armenian military remain missing.
Eight families were annihilated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one of their parents.
Forensic examinations and witness statements among the victims reveal that inhabitants of Khojaly were subjected to unimaginable tortures without distinction of gender, age, or status, such as scalping, disembowelment, amputations, and gouging out of eyes.
Investigations into the massacre shed light on the horror of the incident.
Among the victims were also pregnant women whose bellies were cut open, and images and photos taken at the time highlight the magnitude of the massacre.
Some survivors managed to evade the massacre by fleeing to the surrounding hills and forests, braving sub-freezing temperatures until they reached safety.
Pursuit of justice
After the Khojaly Massacre, Azerbaijani President Ayaz Mutallibov resigned from his post, and the Azerbaijani Parliament declared the events in Khojaly as "genocide."
The massacre is regarded as one of the most controversial and brutal incidents of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
According to Azerbaijan, the events in Khojaly constitute a serious violation of numerous treaties, such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In its decision dated April 22, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights considered the events in Khojaly as actions equivalent to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
To date, the parliaments of 18 countries and the assemblies of 24 states in the United States have adopted resolutions condemning and recognising the events in Khojaly as genocide.
The Azerbaijani government has launched a Justice for Khojaly campaign, calling upon world leaders to recognise the massacre as a crime against humanity.
Continuing to publicise what happened in Khojaly to the world, Azerbaijan demands the punishment of the perpetrators by the international community.
As ongoing peace talks between the two nations progress, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev emphasised last month that Armenia still asserts territorial claims over Azerbaijani land in official documents, including its Constitution, and stated that genuine peace could be attained if Yerevan ceases these claims and revises its legal documents accordingly.
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