Azerbaijan marks 33rd anniversary of Bashlibel tragedy

Today marks another anniversary of the Bashlibel tragedy, when Armenian militants carried out a mass killing of civilians in Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district.

As Caliber.Az recalls, 33 years have passed since the massacre committed against Azerbaijanis during the occupation of Kalbajar.

Following the occupation of Kalbajar by Armenian forces in early April 1993, 73 residents of the village of Bashlibel, which had a population of around 2,000, were unable to leave their homes in time and found themselves under siege. On April 2, as they attempted to escape, Armenian forces killed nine people and took five hostage. The remaining 62 fled into the mountains and took refuge in caves.

The survivors managed to hide for only 18 days. On April 18, Armenian servicemen, having discovered their location, launched an attack. That night, 14 people were taken hostage and 18 were killed when Armenian forces attacked civilians in the “Portda” cave, located directly above the village. The remaining 30 continued to hide, moving to other caves. After 113 days, on July 17, they left their shelter and managed to escape via secret mountain paths, travelling only at night.

The Kalbajar district was liberated from occupation on November 25, 2020, as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War.