The Khojaly massacre (, ) was the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment in the town of Khojaly on 26 February 1992.Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell The event became the largest single massacre throughout the entire Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Khojaly was an Azerbaijani-populated town of some 6,300 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan SSR, also housing the region's only airport in 1992. The town was subject to daily shelling and total blockade by Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Without supply of electricity, gas, or water, it was defended by the local forces consisting of about 160 lightly armed men. The Armenian forces, along with some troops of the 366th CIS regiment, launched an offensive in early 1992, forcing almost the entire Azerbaijani population of the enclave to flee, and committing "unconscionable acts of violence against civilians" as they fled.
The massacre was one of the turning points during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The death toll given by the Azerbaijani authorities is 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children. According to Human Rights Watch, "it is widely accepted" that 200 Azerbaijanis were killed during the massacre, though it notes that as many as 500–1,000 may have died. This number includes combatants and those who died of cold.The Black Garden, Thomas de Waal, , Page 171
Background
In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis became victims of pogroms and ethnic cleansing, which resulted in numerous casualties and displacement of large groups of people. By 1992, the conflict had escalated into a full-scale war. In February 1992 the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Stepanakert, was under a blockade by Azerbaijani forces.Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1992. pp. 12–13.By the winter of 1991–92, as a result of Azerbaijan's three-year economic and transport blockade, Nagorno Karabakh was without fuel (though it did have natural gas), electricity, running water, functioning sanitation facilities, communications facilities, and most consumer goods... Life in Stepanakert during the Helsinki Watch visit in April 1992 was at a standstill... <...> In January 1992, Azerbaijani forces began attacking Stepanakert with Grad missiles, which are jet-propelled rockets intended as anti-personnel weapons.
In 1988 the town had 2,135 inhabitants. Due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, population exchanges occurred between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Meskhetian Turk refugees leaving Central Asia subsequently settled in Khojaly.Доклад общества «Мемориал» (Memorial). Независимая газета, 18 June 1992 According to Thomas de Waal, Khojaly had been the focus of a large resettlement program by the Azerbaijan government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This coincided with the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and increased the population to 6200 by 1991.The Black Garden, Thomas de Waal, , Page 170
Khojaly was on the road from Shusha and Stepanakert to Aghdam and had the region's only airport. The airport was of vital importance for the survival of the population in Karabakh, which had no land connection with Armenia and was under a total blockade by Azerbaijan. According to Human Rights Watch, Khojaly was used by Azerbaijani forces as a base for shelling Stepanakert.The Armenian account states that in the situation of complete blockade and continuous shelling of Stepanakert the Karabakh Armenians had no choice but to seize Khojaly to stop the bombardment. Torosyan Tigran. Conflict Resolution in the Framework of International Law: Case of Nagorno Karabakh. 2010.
In October 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh forces cut the road connecting Khojaly and Aghdam, so that the only way to reach Khojaly was by helicopter. According to the Memorial civil rights society, from autumn 1991 Khojaly was practically blockaded by Armenian armed forces, and after the withdrawal of the Soviet Internal Troops from Karabakh the blockade became total. Some inhabitants left the blockaded town, but the civilian population was not fully evacuated, despite insistent demands of the head of executive power of Khojaly, Elman Mammadov. Khojaly was defended by local OMON forces under the command of Alif Hajiyev, which numbered about 160 or so lightly armed men. Khojaly was shelled by Armenian forces almost daily in the winter of 1991–1992, and people grew accustomed to spending nights in basements,Human Rights Watch. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. surviving the total blockade, and the lack of electricity, gas and water.Hugh Pope, "Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world", New York: The Overlook Press, 2006, p. 59, Denber Rachel. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. New York: Helsinki Watch, September 1992, pp. 19–21. .
Warnings, ultimatum and provision of a humanitarian corridor The report of Memorial stated that the Armenian side claimed that a free corridor was provided for fleeing civilians. The Memorial report says:
Armenian fighters stated to HRW investigators that they sent ultimata to the Azerbaijani forces in Khojaly warning that unless missile attacks from that town on Stepanakert ceased, Armenian forces would attack. The report quotes the testimony of an Azerbaijani woman who states that after Armenians seized Malybeyli, an ultimatum was made to Alif Gajiev, the head of the militia in Khojaly, who told the population on 15 February, but they didn't consider leaving the town. The report also noted that by remaining armed and in-uniform, the Azerbaijani militia endangered the retreating civilians.
Salman Abasov, one of the survivors of massacre stated:
Azerbaijani filmmaker Ramiz Fataliev testified in his interview that the Azerbaijani authorities did not evacuate the civilians from Khojaly because they thought that by doing so they would invite the Armenians to occupy Khojaly:
Elmar Mammadov, the Mayor of Khojaly testified that the Azerbaijani authorities knew about the attack but they took no measure to evacuate the civilians:
None of the witnesses interviewed by Helsinki Watch on the Azerbaijani side said that they knew beforehand of such a corridor.
Assault
On 25–26 February 1992, Armenian forces went on the offensive, forcing almost the entire Azerbaijani population of the enclave to flee, and committing what HRW describes as "unconscionable acts of violence against civilians" as they fled. According to HRW, the tragedy struck when "a large column of residents, accompanied by a few dozen retreating fighters, fled the city as it fell to Armenian forces. It is reported that as they approached the border with Azerbaijan, they came across an Armenian military post and were cruelly fired upon".Kristen Eichensehr, William Michael Reisman. Stopping wars and making peace: studies in international intervention, 2009, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers p. 63,Annika Rabo, Bo Utas. "The role of the state in West Asia", Istanbul 2005, p. 175,
According to Memorial society, part of the population started leaving Khojaly soon after the assault began, trying to flee towards Agdam, and armed people from the town's garrison were among some of the fleeing groups. People left in two directions: 1) from the east side of the town northeastwards along the river, passing Askeran to their left (this route, according to Armenian officials, was provided as a "free corridor"); and 2) from the north side of the town northeastwards, passing Askeran to their right (it appears that fewer refugees fled using this route). Thus, the majority of civilians left Khojaly, while around 200–300 people stayed in the town, hiding in their houses and basements. As a result of the shelling of the town, an unascertained number of civilians were killed in Khojaly during the assault. The Armenian side practically refused to tell Memorial observers how many people perished. The refugees in both groups were fired upon, resulting in death of many of them. Those who remained alive dispersed. Running refugees came across Armenian military posts and were fired upon. Some refugees managed to escape to Agdam, while some, mainly women and children (the exact number is impossible to determine), froze to death while wandering around in mountains, some were captured near the villages of Nakhichevanik and Pirjamal.
Helsinki Watch reported that "the militia, still in uniform, and some still carrying their guns, were interspersed with the masses of civilians" and according to eyewitness accounts, there was a shooting between Armenian forces and the Azerbaijani forces who were mixed with the civilians.Helsinki Watch. "Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh" New York, September 1992 p. 21 At the same time, Human Rights Watch and Memorial stated that the killing of civilians could not be justified under any circumstances. Human Rights Watch noted that"The attacking party is still obliged to take precautionary measures to avoid or minimize civilian casualties. In particular, the party must suspend an attack if it becomes apparent that the attack may be expected to cause civilian casualties that are excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. The circumstances surrounding the attack at Nakhichevanik on those fleeing from Khojaly indicate that Armenian forces and the troops of the 366th CIS regiment (who were not apparently acting on orders from their commanders) deliberately disregarded this customary law restraint on attacks".Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1992. pp. 24. However, the obligation to protect the civilians was likewise breached by the Azerbaijani side. As stated by HRW report:The parties may not use civilians to shield military targets from attack or to shield military operations including retreats. Thus a party that intersperses combatants with fleeing civilians puts those civilians at risk and violates its obligation to protect its own civilians.
Death toll The death toll of the massacre is unknown. Initial reports by Western journalists who reached the scene described seeing "dozens of bodies", with a Reuters photographer documenting 70 bodies in the scene of the massacre.
Human Rights Watch described the Khojaly massacre in their 1994 report as "the largest massacre to date" in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mentioning that "there are no exact figures for the number of Azeri civilians killed because Karabakh Armenian forces gained control of the area after the massacre", HRW estimated the number of Azerbaijani civilian deaths at least 161 in 1993 and then to 200 in 1994, mentioning the possibility that as many as 500–1,000 may have died".
The death toll given by Azerbaijani authorities was 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children. By 28 March 1992, over 700 civilians from Khojaly, mostly women and children detained both in the city and on their way to Aghdam, were delivered to the Azerbaijani side, according to Moscow-based Memorial society. Memorial described the actions of Armenian militants as in gross violation of a number of basic international human rights conventions.
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