Genocide events in Khojali

Over the night from February 25 to 26, 1992 Armenian armed forces implemented the capture of the Khojali city with support of hard equipment and the personnel of the infantry guards regiment #366 of former Soviet Union.
The massed firing with using artillery weapon, hard military equipment, which was began in the evening of February 25, preceded assault of the city.
As a result of this the fire began in the city and by five oclock in the morning the whole city was in fire. The population (about 2500 people) remained in the city were forced to
leave their houses in the hope to find the way to Aghdam - the district center and the nearest place mainly populated by Azerbaijanis.
But these plans have failed. Armenian armed forces with the military support of the infantry guards regiment destroyed Khojali city and with particular brutality implemented carnage over the peaceful population. As a result:
• 613 people were killed. • 25 children lost both parents.
• 130 children lost one of the parents.
• 487 people were wounded, including 76 children
• 1275 people were hostages. • 150 people were missing
These figures show the results of the most bloody tragedy of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Chronicle of tragedy

Khojali was under blockade since October, 1991. On October, 30 the ground traffic was cut off and helicopter was the only way of transportation. The last civilian helicopter arrived in Khojali on January, 28 and after civilian helicopter was brought down over Shusha city, as a result of which 40 people died, the helicopter traffic also stopped its functioning. Beginning from January, 2 there was no electricity in the city. The city lived due to the courage of population and heroism of his defenders. Defense of the city was organized by local guard forces and fighters of National Army armed mainly by submachine guns.
From the second part of February Khojali was encircled by Armenian armed forces and subjected to daily artillery and hard military equipment firing, attack attempts of the Armenian side.
Preparation for Khojali attack began in the evening of February, 25 when the military equipment of regiment No 366 began to take positions around the city. The assault of the city began with the 2 hours firing by tanks, armored cars and guns with the missile “Alazan”. Khojali was blocked from three sides and the people tried to escape in Askeran direction. But very soon they understood that it was the ominous trap. Near Nakhchivanik village the Armenian armed forces opened the fire on the unarmed people. Just here, in Askeran-Nakhchevanik shallow gully many of the children and women, elders, frostbitten and weaken in the snow of forests and mountain passes became the victims of the brutality of Armenian armed forces.

These events took place when international organisations tryed their mediatory mission. Exactly on February, 12 Armenian extremists carried out capture of Malibeyli and Gushchular villages of Shusha district, as a result of which the villages were completely destroyed and burnt. Only in Malibeyli about 50 people were killed, wounded and taken as hostages.
Those days Azerbaijani forces couldn’t burst through to help the population of Khojali, and there was also no ability to take away the dead bodies. At the same time special groups of Armenians in white camouflage cloaks using
helicopters searched the people in the forests, groups of people who came out the forest were shot or taken as hostages and subjected to tortures.
On February, 28 the group of local journalists could reach the place of massacre of Azerbaijanis by two helicopters. Awful sight shocked all – the field was covered by dead bodies. Despite the convoy of the second helicopter they could take only 4 dead bodies because of firing of the helicopters by Armenian militants. On March, 1 when the group of the foreign and local journalists could come to this place, the sight that they saw was more terrible. The dead bodies were mutilated. Many of them had the bullet wounds to head and this showed that the wounded people were finished. After medical checkup of dead bodies it was determined that they were scalped, their ears and other organs were cut off, the eyes were put out, their extremities were chopped off, they have numerous of gun wounds, many of them pressed by hard equipment

 

Download illustrated broshure
issued by Embassy of Azerbaijan
in The State of Kuwait -Tragedy of Khodjali