Azerbaijan defence chiefs commemorate Khojaly genocide victims at Mother’s Cry Memorial Photo/Video

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Defense, paid tribute to the victims of the 1992 Khojaly genocide on the 33rd anniversary of the tragedy.

The delegation visited the Mother’s Cry Memorial in Baku, where they laid flowers in remembrance of the victims, Caliber.Az reports via Defence Ministry.

Today marks 33 years since the Khojaly Genocide, one of Azerbaijan's darkest chapters, remembered with solemn ceremonies across the country and beyond. On the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian forces, supported by the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment, launched a brutal assault on the city of Khojaly. The city had already endured months of blockade, with food, electricity, and road access cut off. Despite this, the residents fought back with determination, relying on their defenders’ bravery.

The attack resulted in the mass killing of 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly. Eight families were completely wiped out, and many children were left orphaned. The genocide also saw 487 people wounded, 1,275 taken hostage, and 150 missing.

In recognition of the atrocity, Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis (parliament) declared February 26 as Khojaly Genocide Remembrance Day in 1994, reaffirmed by resolutions in 1995, 2007, and 2012. The massacre is now officially recognised as an act of genocide, a reminder to the world of the horrors of that night and the importance of ensuring such events are never repeated.

By Aghakazim Guliyev