Chairperson: World must confront Armenia over Azerbaijanis missing since First Karabakh War

Konul Behbudova, Chairperson of "Qarabağ İtkin Ailələri" (Karabakh Missing Families) public association has called for international pressure on Armenia to provide information concerning those who went missing during the First Karabakh War.

In a statement to journalists during her visit to the recently liberated territories, Behbudova expressed her disappointment regarding the silence of prominent international organisations on this issue, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

"For 33 years, we have had no information about nearly 4,000 of our compatriots. We do not know what suffering and torment they have endured," she lamented.

According to Behbudova, today, the international community, including the United Nations, turns a blind eye to all of this. “It aids Armenia, which has committed countless war crimes and stained its hands with the blood of innocent people," Behbudova noted.

Behbudova urged the global community to support the families of the missing persons, stating, "We appeal to the world to exert pressure on Armenia to clarify the fate of our missing compatriots. We demand that those who have committed these crimes face justice. We seek this from the entire world and want our voices to reach international organisations."

She also highlighted the ongoing dangers posed by landmines planted by Armenian forces during the years of occupation, which continue to threaten the lives of civilians in the liberated areas. "The world is also turning a blind eye to this issue," she added.

In the 1990s, approximately 20% of Azerbaijan's internationally recognised territory was seized by Armenian armed forces, resulting in nearly 4,000 Azerbaijani citizens going missing during the first Karabakh War. Following this military aggression, more than 700 civilians—including children, women, and the elderly—were reported missing alongside military personnel.

Among the total number of missing individuals, 872 were confirmed to have been captured or to have remained in the occupied territories, as corroborated by eyewitness accounts.

By Aghakazim Guliyev