The Khojaly genocide is a genocide committed against ethnic Azerbaijanis during the occupation of Khojaly on the night of February 25-26, 1992 by the Armenian Armed Forces with the participation of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment of Russia. After Khojaly was occupied by Armenian gangs, the remaining civilians were deported. These actions were carried out in an organized form. [2] The majority of the deported population was detained in Khankendi, which is a clear indication that this was an order from the authorities of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The hostage-taking and detention of civilians, including women, in Khojaly it is contrast to the NKR government's statements that it is ready to return all Khojaly civilians to Azerbaijan free of charge. The conditions of detention of hostages were severely unsatisfactory, and violence was used against detained residents of Khojaly. [2] Khojaly residents were illegally deprived of their property, and their property was appropriated by people living in Khankendi and surrounding areas. [2] The NKR authorities also legalized the misappropriation of such property by issuing orders to seize homes belonging to Khojaly residents who had left the city or were deported. [2] Soldiers of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Commonwealth of Independent States took part in the attack in Khojaly. [2]

As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 Khojaly residents, including 63 children, 106 women, 70 elderly people, were killed, 8 families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents and 130 children lost one parent. [3] 487 people, including 76 children, were wounded by enemy bullets. 1275 people were taken captive. The fate of 150 captives, including 68 women and 26 children, is still unknown. [4]

Lightening of the Khojaly genocide in Azerbaijan is mainly associated with the name of the National Hero of Azerbaijan Chingiz Mustafayev. The most important part of his short-term military journalism career was filming the atrocities committed in Khojaly. Seven Azerbaijani National Heroes took part in the defense of Khojaly. [5] Shohrat Hasanov was killed in the battles and was posthumously awarded the Medal for Courage by the President of Azerbaijan. [5] Azerbaijani National Hero Allahverdi Bagirov rescued 1,003 Khojaly captives from Armenians in three days through Armenian Colonel Vitaly Balasyan.

At present, the recognition of the Khojaly genocide has been identified as one of the main directions of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Apart from Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Sudan recognize Khojaly as a full-scale massacre. Mexico, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Djibouti, Peru, Honduras, Panama, Jordan, Romania and Scotland recognize the tragedy as a parliamentary massacre. [6] So far, 22 US states have adopted a document recognizing Khojaly as a massacre. This event is known in Azerbaijan as "Khojaly genocide" and "Khojaly tragedy", and in other countries as "Khojaly massacre".