The Khojaly massacre is a crime against humanity and a war crime, Matthew Bryza, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan and former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, exclusively told News.Az.

February 26, 2021 marks the 29th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide committed by the Armenian armed forces. Armenian military committed an act of genocide against the population of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly town consisting of 7,000 people on Feb. 26, 1992. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled in the onslaught. Eight families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, while 25 lost both parents. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

Bryza offered his deepest prayers to the victims of the Khojaly massacre.

“My family and I offer our deepest prayers to the victims. We also offer our prayers similarly to those who died in Barda, as well as in Ganja and all throughout the Karabakh conflict zone,” he said. 

The former diplomat stressed that what happened in Khojaly must never be forgotten.

Bryza also commended Azerbaijan’s decision to stop hostilities in line with a trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 after liberating the city of Shusha.

He also praised Azerbaijan’s first humanitarian gesture allowing assistance to the Armenian population that has remained in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“This humanitarian measures provide a model for how a country, which is victorious in a war, should treat innocent civilians, and this stands obviously in stop contrast to what happened on February 26, 1992 in Khojaly,” Bryza added.

News.Az