Stepanakert: Massacre in Maragha is an unprecedented war crime  committed by Azerbaijan on the basis of hatred against Armenians

ArmInfo.Today marks the 28th anniversary of the massacre of civilians of the Armenian settlement of Maragha, Martakert region of the Republic of Artsakh, committed by  the armed forces of Azerbaijan, the press service of NKR MFA reports.

"The massacre in Maragha is an unprecedented war crime committed by  the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the basis of hatred against Armenians  aimed at the annihilation of the Armenian population.

On April 10, 1992, after several hours of shelling, the Azerbaijani  armed units invaded Maragha. Prior to this, a significant part of the  population was evacuated, but the people who remained in the village,  were subjected to inhuman torture and massacre by the Azerbaijani  servicemen. The self-defense forces of Artsakh managed to liberate  Maragha, but two weeks later, the Azerbaijani troops attacked the  settlement again and committed new crimes against the civilians who  had returned to bury their relatives.

Maragha was captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces and to this day  is under the occupation of Azerbaijan. According to various data,  including the reports of the human rights organizations Human Rights  Watch and Amnesty International, as a result of the war crimes  committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces in Maragha over 50  civilians, including 30 women, were brutally killed. About 50 more  people, including 29 women and 9 children, were taken captive, and  the fate of 19 civilians is still unknown.

As testified by Member and former Vice Speaker of the House of Lords  of Great Britain, human rights activist Baroness Caroline Cox, who  visited the village with representatives of the organization  Christian Solidarity Worldwide immediately after the tragedy, the  bodies of the brutally murdered residents of Maragha were  dismembered, mutilated, and burned. Lady Cox called Maragha  "contemporary Golgotha many times over".

The massacre of Armenians of Maragha became another manifestation of  the consistent policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by the  Azerbaijani authorities against the Armenian people, first in  Sumgait, Baku and other settlements of Azerbaijan in 1988-1990, and  later in Northern Artsakh. The fact that commander of the Azerbaijani  armed units Taghiyev Shahin Taliboglu, who had committed the massacre  in Maragha, was awarded the title of national hero of Azerbaijan  testifies that the responsibility for this crime lies entirely with  the Azerbaijani authorities.The impunity of the crimes committed by  Azerbaijan against Armenians and the lack of an adequate political  and legal assessment by the international community created favorable  conditions for rooting an atmosphere of hatred towards Armenians and  all Armenian at the state level in Azerbaijan. 24 years later, in  April 2016, during the aggression unleashed against Artsakh,  Azerbaijan attempted to use the same methods to carry out new  genocidal acts in Artsakh that were prevented by the decisive actions  of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh.

The massacres of civilians in Maragha are a crime against humanity  with s no statute of limitations, and they must be condemned by the  international community, and their organizers and executors must be  justly punished.

Today we bow our heads in commemoration of the victims of the  massacre in Maragha and assure that the authorities of the Republic  of Artsakh will take all measures to guarantee the inalienable right  of the people of Artsakh to live freely and safely in its homeland",  the statement of NKR MFA stated.