By Rashid Shirinov

The Parliament of Djibouti has adopted a resolution on recognition of the Khojaly Genocide, committed by Armenian militaries back during the Karabakh War.

The resolution was officially presented to Ambassador Elman Abdullayev by Parliament’s Chairman Muhammad Ali Humad on January 24. Ali Humad once again emphasized that his country always supports and stands by Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

The resolution recognized the crimes committed by Armenian Armed Forces in Khojaly on February 26, 1992, as genocide and a crime against humanity, and declared that the responsible persons must be punished according to the relevant international instruments.

Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces in 1992.

About 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.

Moreover, respect for the sovereignty and internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was reaffirmed in the resolution and it is declared that the occupation of territory by force is unacceptable on the basis of the UN Charter and the international law.

The National Assembly demanded the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, as well as other international organizations regarding the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The document called on the international community to exert pressure on Armenia in this issue.

The Djiboutian MPs expressed concern over the fate of more than one million Azerbaijanis, who were victims of the Armenian aggression, the scale of humanitarian problems and their critical situation.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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