Khojaly Massacre, also referred to as Khojaly genocide and Khojaly tragedy was the killing of a large number of ethnic Azeri civilians in the town of Khojaly. The massacre was committed by the ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly with help of the Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment.

The Khojaly Massacre was described by the Human Rights Watch as “the largest massacre to date in the conflict” over Nagorno-Karabakh. It was also acknowledged by the US State Department as the biggest civilian massacre in the world in 1992. Whilst the exact number of the dead and the details and causes of their death are debated to this day, estimates range from 400 to over 1000. The official death toll stays at 613 civilians, of them 106 women and 83 children.

The Armenian side argues that the killings occurred as a result of wartime military operations, and were in part caused by the prevention of the evacuation of town inhabitants by Azeri forces.

External links

• Letter to the UN from Azerbaijan condemning the events
• Letter to the UN from Armenia in response to Azeri accusations