The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia commemorates the 27th anniversary of the ‘Khojaly genocide’, committed by the Armenian soldiers on February 26, 1992.
Over 300 unarmed Azerbaijan people were killed by armed Armenian troops. But why? It is only because they were Azerbaijanis. We want to present to the world these killings of Khojaly fell under the definition of genocide. These people were killed because of their ethnicity. We are commemorating the January 26 incident because it is important to tell the world about what exactly happened,” said Azerbaijan Ambassador to Ethiopia, who briefed journalists based in Addis Ababa at his Embassy.
Though the territory belongs to Azerbaijan, the small town of Khojaly is currently under the occupation of Armenian forces, according to Ambassador Elman Abdullayev, who indicated that Armenia has annexed 20% of Azerbaijan territories at the moment.
For the past several years a global campaign ‘Justice for Khojaly’, has been going on to mobilize international pressure on the Armenian regime set free the people under occupation.
Shortly after the Soviet Union ceased to exist at the end of 1991 and both Armenia and Azerbaijan were accorded international recognition, armed hostilities and Armenian attacks on Azerbaijan intensified, according to the document the Embassy shared to reporters.
“Armenia unleashed the war, used force against Azerbaijan and occupied its territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts. It conducted ethnic cleansing of the areas seized, expelling about one million Azerbaijanis from their land of origin, and committed other serious crimes during the conflict. Finally, it established a subordinate, ethnically pure separatist entity on the occupied Azerbaijani territory,” the statement says.
The international community has consistently deplored and condemned the use of military force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories. In 1993, acting on behalf of all members of the United
Nations, the UN Security Council adopted resolutions condemning the use of force against Azerbaijan and the occupation of its territories.
The resolutions including 874 and 884 of 1993 have reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders.