Khojaly conference held at Moldova's history museum

A conference dedicated to Khojaly was held at Moldova's history museum in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, on February 21, with the organizational support of the Azerbaijani embassy in Moldova, the Moldovan-Azerbaijani Congress and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The event was organized within the "Justice of Khojaly" campaign, Report informs citing the embassy.

The conference was attended by Azerbaijani MPs, Moldovan officials, public and political figures, members of the Azerbaijani diaspora, heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Moldova, Turkish, Bulgarian, Qatari, Israeli, Romanian, Kazakh ambassadors, as well as heads of Jewish public organisations and media representatives of this country.

First, the guests got acquainted with the photos reflecting the Khojaly genocide. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation presented brochures, leaflets, CDs with the film "Endless Corridor" and badges about the Khojaly genocide to the participants of the event. Then the film "Histogram #Khojaly" was shown at the conference.

The speakers at the event noted that the events in the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly were the bloodiest and largest-scale tragedies during the first Karabakh war. It was noted that this genocide was directed not only against the Azerbaijani people but also against all mankind.

The conference participants noted the exceptional role of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in bringing the realities of the Khojaly genocide to the world community. The campaign "Justice of Khojaly," launched in 2008 at the initiative of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Vice-President Leyla Aliyeva, was highlighted in particular.

Some 613 Azerbaijanis, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 elders were brutally murdered on the ground of national identity in Khojaly in 1992.

This heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of the Gazakh district, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in the Khojavand district's Garadaghli and Asgaran region's Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.