Today marks the 30th anniversary of the brutal massacre of the civilian population of Maragha settlement of the Martakert region of Artsakh committed by the Azerbaijani army on April 10, 1992. As a result of the massacre, about 50 people, including 30 women, were tortured and brutally killed, and dozens, mostly women and children, were taken hostage, and the fate of 19 remains unknown to this day.
The assault of the armed forces of Azerbaijan on Maragha was not caused by military necessity and was aimed exclusively at seizing the territory and annihilating the people living there. Dozens of Maragha residents were killed for the sole reason that they were Armenians. The massacre in Maragha, planned by the Azerbaijani authorities and conceived by them also as an act of intimidation, demonstrated Baku’s genocidal plans towards the entire population of Artsakh.
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The fact that the commander of the Azerbaijani armed forces’ units, which committed the war crimes in Maragha, Shahin Tagiyev, was awarded the title of national hero of Azerbaijan, leaves no doubt that the mass killings of civilians was among the main tasks of the Azerbaijani armed forces. With this step, the Azerbaijani authorities confirmed that they bear full responsibility for the internationally wrongful acts committed in Maragha.
The massacre of civilians in Maragha is an integral part of the genocidal policy systematically pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities for over 30 years, starting from the brutal pogroms in Sumgait up to the war crimes committed during the 44-day armed aggression in 2020.
Only a strong and prosperous Artsakh that develops its statehood, has a status of an international legal subject and unites all Armenians around itself, can become the best guarantee of non-repetition of the tragedy of Maragha.
