Justice in progress: Azerbaijani court reviews atrocities of Balligaya massacre

Baku Military Court continued its examination of atrocities committed during the First Karabakh War, focusing on the massacre that took place on August 28, 1992 in the village of Balligaya, Goranboy district.

According to court documents presented at the hearing, Armenian armed forces carried out a brutal attack on Azerbaijani civilians—internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the occupied Lachin district—who had temporarily settled in makeshift accommodations on the forested outskirts of Ballygaya, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The IDPs, originally from Naghdali village, had taken refuge in a “Finnish house” and several tents after fleeing the Armenian offensive in Lachin.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the attack, nine Armenian soldiers reportedly stormed the area and opened fire on the sleeping civilians. In total, 24 people were killed and 9 others were wounded. The victims included 13 women and 11 men, with seven children under the age of 18 and four elderly individuals over 60 among the dead.

Scene inspection protocols revealed harrowing details of the massacre. The attackers reportedly set fire to the tents and the wooden “Finnish house”, reducing it to ashes. The charred remains of one woman and six children were discovered inside the structure. Additional bodies were recovered from the surrounding tents and near a Belarus tractor, where several victims had apparently attempted to flee.

The massacre in Balligaya is one of several crimes under scrutiny as Azerbaijani authorities continue judicial proceedings against Armenian nationals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, and violations of international humanitarian law during the Karabakh conflict.

The trial forms part of a broader effort by Azerbaijan to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities committed during the armed conflict and to seek accountability for what officials describe as systematic acts of aggression and ethnic violence.

By Vafa Guliyeva