French Embassy Expresses Condolences To Azerbaijani People (PHOTO)

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) ** BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 26.** The French Embassy in Azerbaijan has expressed condolences to the Azerbaijani people, joining them in honoring the victims of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports.

The message was published on the official X page of the French Embassy in both French and Azerbaijani.

Today marks the 34th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenian armed forces. The Khojaly genocide stands as one of the bloodiest tragedies of Armenia’s occupation and genocide policy against Azerbaijan.

On the night from February 25-26, 1992, Armenian armed forces attacked Khojaly, which had been under blockade since October 1991, with its road and energy connections severed, and carried out mass atrocities against Azerbaijani civilians. The massacre was perpetrated with the assistance of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the former Soviet Armed Forces.

During the killings, 613 people were brutally murdered, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly persons. A total of 487 people sustained injuries of varying degrees, 1275 were taken captive and subjected to torture, 8 families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, and 25 lost both parents. The fate of many hostages remains unknown.

These atrocities were not merely military operations but part of a policy driven by ethnic hatred and discrimination. Similar targeted massacres against Azerbaijanis in settlements such as Baghanis Ayrim, Jamilli, Karkijahan, Meshali, Malibeyli, Garadaghli, Tugh, and Salakatin further demonstrate the systematic and premeditated nature of the Khojaly genocide.

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