Remembrance ceremony of Khojaly genocide victims held in Strasbourg

France, Strasbourg, Feb. 25 / Trend A. Maharramli / The ceremony dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Khojaly genocide was held in the building of the Association of European Parliament in Strasbourg on Friday. It was held with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Permanent Mission to the Council of Europe. The representatives of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Diaspora organizations, permanent missions of Turkey and the GUAM countries under the Council of Europe, Turkish Consul General, representatives of the University of Strasbourg, Azerbaijanis living in Strasbourg attended the event, the Azerbaijani Permanent Mission to the CE told Trend on Saturday. Members of the Azerbaijani delegation, including head of the department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Gafar Aliyev, MP Rauf Aliyev and others visied Strasbourg to attend the event. The participants revered the memory of Khojaly genocide victims. The participants of the event were informed about the Khojaly genocide, the crimes of the Armenians against the Azerbaijani people, the "Justice for Khojaly" campaign. The film on Khojaly tragedy was demonstrated. The head of the Permanent Mission, ambassador Arif Mammadov spoke about the essence of the Khojaly genocide, which is one of the worst crimes in human history, the work carried out by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, aimed at bringing the reality of the Khojaly tragedy to the world community. He also talked about the importance of the articles published in the newspaper "Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace" on February 24, about our country and the Khojaly genocide. The head of the department of the Presidential Administration Gafar Aliyev stressed that the Azerbaijani government holds significant work for the world community to give an objective assessment of the event. He also highlighted the joint work of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Diaspora in this area. Azerbaijan's main goal is to return occupied Azerbaijani lands and to restore territorial integrity. Armenian military forces committed genocide in Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992. Some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1,275 peaceful residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az