After three decades, Khojaly survivors seek the great return Later or sooner, justice will prevail

In 2023, Azerbaijan marks the 31^st anniversary of the Khojaly massacre, one of the bloodiest pages of its modern history, perpetrated by the Armenian forces on February 26, 1992. The events in Khojaly have been recognised as a massacre in twenty US states, including countries like Israel and Pakistan. Moreover, memorials have been built in Türkiye and Germany in memory of the Khojaly tragedy. Although Azerbaijan documented many facts and perpetrators of the genocide, the organisers of the ethnic cleansing campaign have not been held accountable.

Khojaly is distinguished for its various characteristics. Notably, Khojaly was totally a civilian settlement with no military unit or equipment deployed, which exposed the vulnerability of its residents. Yet, Armenian forces besieged the city with civilians and razed it to the ground.

The occupation of the Azerbaijani territories of (Nagorno) Karabakh and seven surrounding districts and the ethnic cleansing of the region in the early 1990s by the armed forces of Armenia was a process of immeasurable atrocities and extreme violence. The Armenian political establishment wanted to annex Nagorno Karabakh despite international legal norms and demonstrated their readiness to resort to any crime and barbarism for the sake of its ideology. The Armenian leaders decided to force them into it after realising that more than 700,000 people based in this region would not be easily persuaded to flee and leave their homes to Armenia.

On the night from 25 to February 26 1992, Armenian armed forces and paramilitary units, directly backed by the former USSR's 366th Motorised Infantry Regiment (by that time formally a part of CIS United Military Forces), took over the town of Khojaly. When the assault began, nearly 2500 dwellers were still in the town, trying to flee for their lives. After the Armenian attack began, most residents tried to leave the city and reach the nearest Azerbaijani-controlled area. They did not make it, however: they were shot by Armenian patrols or taken captive near the villages of Nakhchivanik and Pirjamal. Overall, 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children in Khojaly, were killed with extreme cruelty.

The tragedy of the Khojaly, by the level of violence and brutality, should be held equal to the Holocaust, which makes it necessary for both warring parties to seek reconciliation after three decades. Many Azerbaijanis at that time did not expect cruelty and violence from their Armenian neighbours, with whom they had lived side-by-side in friendships for many decades.

As such, the tragedy in Khojaly established moral barriers between Azerbaijanis and Armenians of Karabakh for a very long time, thus neglecting chances for peaceful coexistence. The mutual distrust and the policy of denial of Armenia regarding the Khojaly massacre created a serious gap in the peace process in the post-2020 war as well.

When Azerbaijan declared military victory in November 2020, Baku voiced optimism for sustainable peace and full political reconciliation to address the long-term concerns of both sides. Nevertheless, official Yerevan's unconstructive position over the peace talks and maximalist demands swiftly became a source of a new confrontation between the two parties.

Indeed, many Azerbaijani survivors of the Khojaly massacre and descendants of the victims still seek justice and the arrest of well-known perpetrators. Some believe that the issue must be included in the top agenda again once the final peace treaty is signed between the warring parties. Although during the recent war, Azerbaijani forces managed to liberate numerous villages of Khojaly, the central part of the district fell under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces per the November 10, 2020 ceasefire agreement.

Khojaly is officially not under occupation anymore. However, its residents still cannot return to their homeland, given security concerns and the ineffective management of the peacekeeping contingent that is reluctant to ensure the safety of ethnic Azerbaijanis, including the residents of Khojaly. Notwithstanding the endless peace talks and meetings, the hope for the great return of survivors and family members of the victims to Khojaly has never been so high in the last three decades.