Recently, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev visited occupied Ivanyan (Khojaly) village and
announced that “Armenia should itself recognize the barbarities committed in Khojali
and apologize to us.”
In the period of the Artsakh movement, Khojali occupied a strategically important
position. Between 1988 and 1991, the Azerbaijani population of Khojali hindered the
movement of Armenians and cargo transportation, carried out kidnappings of Armenian
residents, and engaged in looting and shelling of Armenian villages. During that time,
attacks from Khojali and Shushi on Armenian settlements (particularly the capital,
Stepanakert) with various weapons were incessant. Therefore, the liberation of Khojali
and Shushi gained vital importance for the liberation forces of Artsakh.
In February 1992, during military operations, Armenian forces provided a humanitarian
corridor for the Azerbaijani residents of Khojali to leave the settlement. However, near
the settlement of Shelli, close to Aghdam, militants of the National Front of Azerbaijan
shot the Azerbaijanis who were leaving Khojali and then desecrated the corpses. This
circumstance was documented by Chingiz Mustafaev, an Azerbaijani TV journalist.
Days after these events, Azerbaijan presented the incident as a "genocide" of the
civilian population carried out by Armenians. As of now, Azerbaijan continues to spread
the fabricated theses on this incident.
The fact that these atrocities were organized by Azerbaijanis is evidenced not only by
the survivors of Khojali but also by the former leader of Azerbaijan, Ayaz Mutalibov, in
an interview with the "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" newspaper. According to him, the
barbarism in Khojali was orchestrated by certain forces to discredit him and force his
resignation. In fact, for the sake of internal political intrigues, Azerbaijanis did not
hesitate to kill their own people.
In fact, in Sumgait, Baku, Gandzak, Artsakh, and other territories under their control,
Azerbaijanis, especially the genocidal regime of Ilham Aliyev, carried out massacres
against Armenians. The leader of Azerbaijan himself should apologize and accept the
will of the Artsakh Armenians to live freely and independently in their homeland.
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