The Khojaly massacre was the mass killing of at least 161 Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment in the town of Khojaly on 25 February 1992.[1] It has been recognized and commemorated by acts adopted in fifteen countries and in 28 U.S. states.[2][3]
Azerbaijan considers international recognition of the massacre as an important part of its foreign policy. The government of Azerbaijan refers to the event as a genocide, and aims to raising international awareness of the massacre, and its root causes within the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In 2007, Heydar Aliyev Foundation organised an exhibition of photographs and children's paintings titled "Victims of aggression" in Brussels on 26 February,[4] and held commemorative ceremonies in Istanbul and 25 provinces of Turkey as a part of "Khojaly Week" in 19–26 February. On 14 February 2008, the same foundation organised a conference titled "Khojaly massacre and realities of 1915 events" in Berlin.[4]
The following international organisations recognise the Khojaly events as massacre:
In recent years, parliaments of several countries have formally recognized the event as a massacre. The Hungarian party Jobbik stated, that they express solidarity with Azerbaijani people and issued statements during massacre's anniversary.[9][10]