BEYNƏLXALQ CİNAYƏT KHOJALY GENOCIDE: the GRAVEST CRIME COMMITTED by ARMENIANS AGAINST AZERBAIJANIS in LATE 20Th CENTURY

■ Dövlət idarəçiliyi: nəzəriyyə və təcrübə ■ BEYNƏLXALQ CİNAYƏT ALI HASANOV Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Public and Political Issues, Doctor of Science in History, Professor KHOJALY GENOCIDE: THE GRAVEST CRIME COMMITTED BY ARMENIANS AGAINST AZERBAIJANIS IN LATE 20th CENTURY Genocide, which was committed by the 4th-7th centuries BC. When the Armenian Armenians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly armed forces massacred innocent people in in the late 20th century, is considered one of the Khojaly helped by the Soviet Union's 366th gravest crimes against humanity. Khojaly does motor rifle regiment in February 1992, in order not differ from horrific tragedies of Katyn, to cover their tracks, they resorted to extreme Lidice, Oradour-sur-Glane, Holocaust, Songmy, brutality, destroying Khojaly monuments, Rwanda and Srebrenica, which are etched on which had been of unique importance to both the minds of people forever. These atrocities the people of Azerbaijan as well as entire went down in the history of wars as genocides humanity. of civilians that shook the world. Located in Four months before the tragedy took place the strategically important part of the Nagorno- - in the late October 1991 - all roads to the Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, the town of town were closed, and Khojaly was, in fact, Khojaly was impeding the Armenians' placed under the siege. On 2 January, supply occupation plans. The town was situated of electricity to Khojaly was halted. Khojaly's 12 km north-east from Khankandi, between connections with other regions of Azerbaijan Agdam-Shusha and Asgaran-Khankandi were cut, and the only way to get to the town highways. What added to the town's strategic was by helicopter. But a few months later importance was the fact that the only airport in helicopter connection was also cut. On the Nagorno-Karabakh region was located 28 January 1992, a MI-8 helicopter heading here. That is why the main goal of the from Agdam to Shusha was shot down over Armenian armed forces was to seize control of Khalfali village by a rocket fired from the Asgaran-Khankandi highway, which passed Khankandi, killing 41 Azerbaijani passengers through Khojaly, and to occupy the airport in and three crew members aboard [2, p. 282]. the town. Later the Armenian army occupied the last res By committing genocide in Khojaly with idential areas of the Azerbaijanis in the extreme cruelty and torture, the Armenians Nagorno-Karabakh region. In the late 1991, wanted to wipe out the ancient settlements of more than 30 residential areas in the mountain the Azerbaijanis because being an ancient land, ous part of Karabakh, including Tug, Imarat- Khojaly differed from other areas with its Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, historic and cultural monuments. With the Karkijahan and other Azerbaijani villages of population of more than 7,000 Azerbaijanis, strategic importance were burned, destroyed Khojaly was the largest and ancient residential and looted by the Armenians [7, p. 63]. area (926 square km) surrounded by villages On the night of 25-26 February 1992, the inhabited by the Armenians [8, p.lO]. The Armenian armed forces surrounded Khojaly ancient monuments in the town had survived with 10 tanks, 16 armored carriers, nine to modem time. infantry fighting vehicles, 180 military experts Near Khojaly there were samples of the and infantry units of the 366th motor rifle Khojaly-Gadabay culture dating back to the regiment, which was part of the 23rd division ■ 3 (59)2017 ■ ■ 101 ■ ■ a.Hasanov ■ of the 4th USSR army deployed in Khankandi people who are natives of Near East have the [4, p.83-87]. Armed with state-of-the-art most modern military equipment, including weapons, the Armenians razed Khojaly to the the helicopters. ASALA has military bases and ground. The town was destroyed and burned ammunition depots in Syria and Lebanon. by military hardware, and its civilians were Armenians annihilated Azerbaijanis of killed with extreme cruelty [3, p.8]. Most of Karabakh, implemented bloody massacre in them were beheaded, had their eyes gouged more than 100 Moslem villages" [32]. "Le out, skinned, and burned alive. Monde" newspaper (Paris), 14 March 1992: Official figures prove that as a result of the "...The foreign journalists in Agdam saw the genocidal act in Khojaly 613 people were women and three scalped children with the killed, including 106 women, 63 children and pulled off nails among the killed people. This 70 elderly. is not Azerbaijani propaganda, but reality" - 8 families were completely annihilated; [26]. - 56 people were tortured to death; "The Sunday Times" newspaper (London) - 27 families had only one surviving member; 1 March 1992 edition highlighted atrocities - 25 children lost both parents; committed by the Armenians against the - 130 children lost one parent; Azerbaijanis: "Survivors reported that - 230 families lost the breadwinner; Armenian soldiers shot and bayoneted more - 487 people became disabled, including 76 than 450 Azeris, many of them women and minors; children, who were fleeing an attack on their - 1,275 people were taken hostage; town. Hundreds, possibly thousands, were - 1,165 people were released from captivity; missing and feared dead. "They were shooting, - fate of 150 people is still unknown [14, shooting, shooting," echoed Razia Aslanova, P-5-11]. who arrived in Agdam with other women and The self-defense forces in Khojaly fought children who had made their way through to the end, resisting the enemy very seriously Armenian lines. She said her husband, following the battles, in which the balance of brother-in-law, and her son-in-low were power was not equal. And this was the greatest massacred in front of her, while her daughter example of heroism and courage shown by the went missing [27]. people who were defending the town. When The Washington Post , 28 February 1992 Khojaly was attacked, 3,000 unarmed civilians edition, The Sunday Times 8 March 1992 in the town, which was encircled by Armenian edition, The Times, 3 March 1992 edition, The villages, left it in an attempt to escape the Times, 4 March 1992 edition, "Izvestiya" enemy. Unfortunately, almost the vast majority newspaper, 14 March 1992 edition and Crual of these people failed to escape from the L'Eveneman" magazine (Paris), 25 March Armenian atrocities because there was no help edition and a number of other publications to Khojaly at that time. provided substantial evidence of the Armenian According to the investigation materials, armed forces' large-scale attack on Khojaly more than 50 Armenian officers and ensigns with modem military equipment, as well as the were part of the units commanded by incumbent annihilation of dozens of Azerbaijani families Armenian minister of defense Seyran Ohanyan [31; 28; 29; 30; 23; 33]. and commander of the 3rd battalion of the 366th Even the Russian media published the regiment Yevgeni Nabokikh [11, p. 144-145]. articles highlighting the Armenian atrocities. Valer Actuel magazine, which was based in "Izvestiya" newspaper, 13 March 1992, France, home to large Armenian lobby, wrote Russian military servicemen Major Leonid about the Armenians' state-of-the-art military Kravets: "I saw about hundred dead bodies on hardware and mercenaries in its 14 March the hill. One little boy was without head. 1992 edition: "In this "autonomous region" Everywhere were the dead bodies of women, Armenian armed forces together with the children, elders killed with the particular ■ 102 ■ ■ Ivul - Avqust - Sentvabr ■ ■ Dövlət idarəçiliyi: nəzəriyyə və təcrübə ■ brutality" [22]. The Russian "Memorial" regiment tortured, massacred Azerbaijanis Human Rights Watch Center provided with unprecedented brutality. evidence of the atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani captives detained in Nagorno- Armenians in Khojaly: "For four days the Karabakh and other occupied regions of bodies of 200 Azerbaijanis slaughtered in Azerbaijan as well as in Armenia faced Khojaly were transported to Agdam, and unbearable tortures, some of them were dozens of instances of post-mortem mutilation murdered or became disabled. In 1988, and desecration were registered. 181 corpses criminal investigations were launched by went through forensic examination in Agdam prosecutor offices and other law enforcement (130 men and 51 women, including 13 agencies into the massacre, torture and children). The forensics established that 151 disablement of the Azerbaijani captives by the people died of bullet wounds, 20 people died Armenian armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh of shrapnel wounds, and 10 people from blunt and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as force trauma." The human rights watchdog well as in Armenia, provocations and terrorist also reported a case of a man scalped alive. attacks, deportation of the population, Financial Times (London), 14 March 1992: destruction of material resources in residential "General Polyakov said 103 Armenian areas, destruction of cultural and historical servicemen from regiment No 366 stayed in monuments and other grave crimes committed Nagorno-Karabakh" [25]. by the Armenians [15]. The investigation In addition, during the withdrawal of the found out that the crime committed by the 366th motor rifle regiment of the former USSR Armenian armed forces together with the 366th from Khankandi, 25 tanks, 87 armored regiment of the USSR in Khankandi contained vehicles, 28 infantry fighting vehicles, 45 components of genocidal crime as stipulated artillery gun systems were illegally given to in the Convention

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