Turkish parliament condemns 1992 Khojaly massacre

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday "vehemently" condemned the Khojaly massacre on its 28th anniversary and the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.

The 1992 massacre is seen as one of the bloodiest incidents of the battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control of the now-occupied Upper Karabakh region.

In a statement, the committee recalled that from Feb. 25-26, 1992, Armenian troops in an attack on the town of Khojaly in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region brutally massacred 613 innocent Azerbaijani citizens, including women, children and the elderly.

Additionally, 1,275 people were taken hostage, of whom 150 remain unaccounted for, it added.

"Turkey commiserates deeply with her Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this violent attack and massacre [...] and shares their pain wholeheartedly," it said.

"We vehemently condemn these massacres carried out by the troops of the Republic of Armenia as well as the continued occupation of the Azerbaijani territories for years," the committee added.

The committee called on the international community to pay heed to the massacre.

"We reiterate, once again, that the international community should assign the warranted importance for this massacre and deliver a justified response in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, so that such aggressions which cast a bloody stain for humanity are not repeated," the statement said.

Turkey stands in solidarity with the Azerbaijani brothers and sisters in their rightful cause, it read.

"We, hereby, reiterate our call for the perpetrators and those who are responsible of this act to be brought to justice per the international law and for Armenia to withdraw as soon as possible from the Azerbaijani territories it has occupied," the statement concluded.