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Karabakh genocide

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Karabakh genocide
Azerbaijani refugees after the Khojaly massacre
Native nameQarabağ Faciəsi
LocationNagorno-Karabakh and the 7 districts formerly occupied by Armenia
Date1988–1994
TargetAzerbaijani Turks, Muslim Kurds and Meskhetian Turks
Attack type
Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, genocidal rape, cultural genocide, summary execution
Deaths
  • 613 killed (Khojaly)
  • 16,000[1] to 30,000[2] killed (in all of Karabakh)
Victims
  • 724,000[3] to over a Million[4] displaced
Perpetrators
MotiveAnti-Azerbaijani sentiment, Islamophobia, Armenian irredentism, Anti-Turkish sentiment, Armenian nationalism

The Karabakh genocide (Azerbaijani: Qarabağ Faciəsi) was the mass killing and forceful expulsion of Azerbaijani Turks, Muslim Kurds and Meskhetian Turks living in and outside of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenian seperatists in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Before the First Nagorno-Karabakh war, the majority of people living in Nagorno-Karabakh were ethnic Armenians, although there were a few outliers with the majority being ethnic Azerbaijanis like Shusha or Khojaly. In the war, Armenian seperatist forces, with the help of Armenia, occupied almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh and also 7 provinces outside Nagorno-Karabakh, which were all almost completely populated by Azerbaijanis and Kurds, under the justification of a "security belt" for Nagorno-Karabakh.[5] All Azerbaijanis and Kurds were brutally forced out of those regions, not having time to take important necessities with them and having to abandon their houses because of Armenian forces "hunting them down" to the forests while they were fleeing.[6][7][8]

The biggest mass killing of Azerbaijani and Meskhetian civilians was the Khojaly massacre in February of 1992, at the start of the war. The number of fatalities in this massacre range from more than to 500 to over 1,000, although the official number of victims is 613.[9][10][11]

All together, thousands of Azerbaijanis, Meskhetians and Kurds, ranging from 16,000[1] to 30,000,[12] were killed, while 724,000[3] to over a Million[13] were expelled and displaced.

Background

[edit]
Main articles: First Nagorno-Karabakh War and 1988 violence in Shusha and Stepanakert

The first killings of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988, when ethnic Armenians in the region called for a complete swap of authority over Nagorno-Karabakh, from the Azerbaijani SSR to the Armenian SSR. In September 1988, Armenians and Azerbaijanis started using violence against each other resulting in the over 3,100 Azerbaijanis of Khankendi being expelled, while the Armenians of Shusha were also expelled.[14]

In 1991 both Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from the Soviet Union, short before it collapsed. The same year, both countries put claims on the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and in December the ethnic Armenians held an "illegal referendum" boycotted by the Karabakh Azerbaijanis, on joining the Republic of Armenia.[15] The next year, total war over Nagorno-Karabakh started.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War and ethnic cleansing

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Over the course of the first war, Armenian seperatists occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of 7 provinces around it as a "security belt", resulting in the expulsion of the Azerbaijani population, which was the majority in that area, and dozens of war crimes.

Kalbajar

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The Kalbajar District was mostly populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis before the war. After the Battle of Kalbajar in 1993, all of the 60,000 Azerbaijanis and Kurds in the region were forcefully expelled by Armenian forces,[16] while 80 of them were taken hostage.[17] But one of the most famous massacres against Azerbajani civilians in Kalbajar took place in Aghdaban, when Armenian forces, under the command of Monte Melkonian[18], attacked the village and massacred its population, resulting in the deaths of 67-779 people according to Azerbaijan.[19] Another massacre that took place in Kalbajar, was the Bashlybel massacre, where Armenian forces killed 12 people while taking 14 hostage.[20]

Displaced Azerbaijani woman
Displaced Azerbaijani woman

Lachin

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The Lachin District was also mostly populated by Azerbaijanis and Kurds like Kalbajar. Around 47.100 Kurds and Azerbaijan were expelled from the region.[21] An unknown number of people also died in a massacre in the village of Zabukh after the village was seized by Armenian forces.[citation needed]

Qubadli

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The Qubadli District was populated by mostly Azerbaijanis. Although there are no specifically documented massacres against Azerbaijani civilians in Qubadli, the 28,000 Azerbaijanis in the region were forcefully displaced from the region.

Khojavend

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Unike the other ones, the Khojavend District was mostly populated by Armenians, although it had a wide Azerbaijani minority. Still, one of the worst massacres in the entire conflict took place in the village of Garadaghly in the Khojavend District. In February 1992, after Armenian seperatists under the command of Monte Melkonian occupied the town, around 53 people, mostly civilians, were taken hostage. According to Melkonian's brother, 20 people had already died in the attack and afterwards the Armenian soldiers began stabbing, shooting and killing their captives. Several captives were also burned alive with the Armenians tossing gasoline over them. The deaths amounted to around 73 people.[22][23][24][25] The 10,020 Azerbaijanis in the region were expelled.[26]

Shusha

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Although Shusha was in the Armenian-populated NKAO, both the district and city were populated by mostly Azerbaijanis before the war. After the war, the whole Azerbaijani population of Shusha was displaced mounting up to 15,000 people.[27][28] All that was left were ruins and some Armenian settlers. 3 different massacres, that erupted in the Shusha district, took place in the villages of Malibeyli, Yukhari Gushchular and Ashaghi Gushchular. According to Memorial, more than 24 people died in the massacre.[29]

Aghdam

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Survivors of the Khojaly massacre at the Agdam Mosque

The Aghdam district is not associated with any specific massacre or mass killing, however, as a result of the Battle of Aghdam and its occupation, around 120,000 of the 191,700 inhabitans of Aghdam were expelled.[30] In 2023, Azerbaijani authorities discovered a mass grave in the village of Sarijaly where the remains of 4 people were found.

Khojaly

[edit]
Main article: Khojaly massacre

The most famous and brutal massacre of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to this day is the Khojaly massacre. Numbers of casualties resulting from this massacre are different with casualties ranging from 500 to over 1,000, although the official number by Azerbaijani authorities is still 613.[9][10][11]

Other districts

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There are no specific massacres or mass killings reported in the districts of Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Zangilan, however, by looking at different reports and sources, a total of 171,271 people were expelled and displaced from all 3 districts, while the number of dead civilians is unknown.[31]

Vandalism

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Examples of vandalism and cultural genocide in the occupied parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and the 7 districts by Armenian forces are the destruction of Soviet-Azerbaijani monuments, Azerbaijani mosques, destruction of whole Azerbaijani villages and the later abandonment.

Footage of vandalised Aghdam mosque before restorian works
Footage of vandalised Aghdam mosque before restorian works

Mosques

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According to the Institute of Law and Human Rights of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, around 63 out of 67 mosques in Karabakh were either completely destroyed, damaged, vandalised or used for other unholy purposes such as holding pigs and cattle in the mosques.[32] While the exact number is unknown, estimates can range from 35 to 60 mosques, with the most being 17 destroyed or vandalised mosques in the city and district of Shusha. The most famous examples of vandalised mosques in Karabakh are the Juma Mosque in Aghdam, the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque and Saatli Mosque in Shusha. All three have been rebuilt and reopened as of 2024 with 4 other mosques.[33]

Museums and monuments

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The most famous examples of vandalised monuments and museums in Karabakh are the Vagif Mausoleum and Aghdam Bread Museum, which were both destroyed by Armenian forces under occupation. In 2022, the Vagif Mausoleum was reconstructed while the status of the bread museum is unknown, but most likely still destroyed. Another museum destroyes under the course of occupation was the History-Ethnography museum in Jabrayil. While Azerbaijan was able to take around 16,000 exhibits before Jabrayil was conquered by Armenian forces, there were still 2,000 exhibits which were all destroyed.[34] Around 19 museums and monuments were destroyed or vandalised by Armenian forces.[35]

Schools and theatres

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The number of schools and threatres destroyed under Armenian occupation isn't exactly known, however there are around 3 big schools and one theatre that are verified as destroyed, those being the Kalbajar chess school, Shusha Realni school, Shusha musical academy and the Aghdam drama theatre.[36][37]

Aftermath and legacy

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Azerbaijani soldiers at a ceremony dedicated to Khojaly victims in 2020, next to them the Khojaly memorial in Baku
Azerbaijani soldiers at a ceremony dedicated to Khojaly victims in 2020, next to them the Khojaly memorial in Baku

Khojaly massacre

[edit]
Main articles: International recognition of the Khojaly massacre and Khojaly massacre memorials

The Khojaly massacre is commemorated every year on the February 26. There are monuments to the massacre in Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Mexico and the Netherlands. The massacre has also been recognized as a massacre by 10 countries and a genocide by 7. 28 US-states have also commemorated or recognized the massacre, with the latest one being Virginia in 2021.

Western world

[edit]

The mass murder of Azerbaijani civilians over the course of the First Nagorno-Karabakh war is a pretty unknown but still controversial topic in the Western world. Because of the Armenians being predominantly Christian, while the Azerbaijanis are Muslim, coverage of anti-Azerbaijani mass killings in Karabakh were barely reported and the war depicted as "Muslim oppressors victimising a Christian minority". Another reason for why anti-Azerbaijani mass killings were barely reported on is the Armenian diaspora that was preventing any aid to Azerbaijan and covering up events such as the Khojaly massacre, with the ANCA calling the massacre "propaganda" and "fabricated".[38][39][40][41] A study of the four largest Canadian newspapers covering the Nagorno-Karabakh war showed that the journalists tended to present the mass killings of Azerbaijani Turks as "grossly exaggerated" as well as relying more on Armenian sources, to downplay the scale of death and not to publish images of the bodies and mourners.[42]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Civil War: Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (1992–1994)". Omnilogos. 13 June 2020.
  2. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-happening-between-armenia-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-19/
  3. ^ a b "Gefährliche Töne im "Frozen War"". Wiener Zeitung. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013.
  4. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-happening-between-armenia-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-19/
  5. ^ Episkopos, Mark (2020-12-20). "Nagorno-Karabakh and the Fresh Scars of War". The National Interest. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  6. ^ rstml (2020-10-01). "Karabakh in Western Media – 1992". Karabakh.org. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  7. ^ LucciCP0 (2020-10-23). "The Independent, 1992: „Azeris hunted down and shot in the forest"". r/azerbaijan. Retrieved 2024-05-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Azerbaijan: Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh": https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/AZER%20Conflict%20in%20N-K%20Dec94.pdf
  9. ^ a b "Response to Armenian Government Letter on the town of Khojaly, Nagorno-Karabakh". hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. 23 March 1997. Retrieved 25 February 2021. Yet we place direct responsibility for the civilian deaths with Karabakh Armenian forces.
  10. ^ a b "Human Rights Watch World Report 1993 – The Former Soviet Union". Hrw.org. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Wayback Machine". web.archive.org. 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  12. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-happening-between-armenia-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-19/
  13. ^ https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-happening-between-armenia-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-19/
  14. ^ Bakinskiy Rabochiy (27 November 1988). "JPRS report. Soviet Union. Political affairs / Foreign Broadcast Information Service". Political Affairs. The Service: 156.
  15. ^ ch, Beat Müller, beat (at-sign) sudd (dot) (1991-12-10). "Berg-Karabach (Aserbaidschan), 10. Dezember 1991 : Unabhängigkeit -- [in German]". www.sudd.ch. Retrieved 2024-05-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. New York: Human Rights Watch. 1994. pp. 14. ISBN 1-56432-142-8. An estimated 60,000 individuals — equally divided among Kurds and Azeris — lived in Kelbajar province before the offensive. In the space of a week, 60,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Today all are displaced, and Kelbajar stands empty and looted.
  17. ^ Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. New York: Human Rights Watch. 1994. p. 24. ISBN 1-56432-142-8. Eighty civilians, however, were taken hostage and sent to Stepanakert to be exchanged for Armenians in Azeri captivity; some 150 soldiers were captured.
  18. ^ Melkonian. My Brother's Road, 243.
  19. ^ "Ağdaban faciəsi | Azərbaycan Respublikası Kəlbəcər Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti". kelbecer-ih.gov.az. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  20. ^ "30 years since the Bashlybel tragedy [VIDEO]". Azernews.Az. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  21. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20220327170734/https://virtualaz.org/aktual/153464
  22. ^ "20 KILLED IN ATTACK ON AZERBAIJANI VILLAGE - Deseret News". web.archive.org. 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  23. ^ Melkonian, Markar (2005). My brother's road: an American's fateful journey to Armenia. I.B. Tauris. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-1-85043-635-5.
  24. ^ Rizvan Guseynov (17 August 2010). "Ибад Гусейнов: "Монте Мелконян на коленях просил пощадить его жизнь"". 1news.az. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010.
  25. ^ Melkonian, Markar (2005). My brother's road: an American's fateful journey to Armenia. I.B. Tauris. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-1-85043-635-5.
  26. ^ https://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/rnazerbaijan.html Ходжавендский район - 10.020 (25,3%)
  27. ^ "Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета "Высшая школа экономики"". web.archive.org. 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  28. ^ "Şuşanın işğalı ilə bağlı beynəlxalq təşkilatlara bəyanat ünvanlanıb / ANSPress.com". web.archive.org. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  29. ^ "Доклад Правозащитного Центра «Мемориал» о массовых нарушениях прав человека, связанных с занятием населенного пункта Ходжалы в ночь с 25 на 26 февраля 1992 г. вооруженными формированиями". Правозащитный центр «Мемориал». 1992-07-01. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  30. ^ "Dağlıq Qarabağ | Azərbaycan Respublikası Ağdam Rayon İcra Hakimiyyəti". agdam-ih.gov.az. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  31. ^ The number of civilians expelled from Jabrayil District was 49,156, from Zangilan District 32,698 and Fuzuli District 89,417, adding up to around 171,271 casualties.
  32. ^ "Ilham Aliyev's claim regarding the destroyed mosques in Karabakh". Fakt Yoxla. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  33. ^ List of mosques reconstructed by Azerbaijan in Karabakh: Yukhari Govhar Aga Mosque (Shusha), Ashagi Govhar Agha Mosque (Shusha), Saatli Mosque (Shusha), Juma Mosque (Aghdam), Mamai Mosque (Shusha), Taza Mahala Mosque (Mosque), Imam Hussein Mosque (Zangilan). 7 mosques have already bee nreconstructed in Karabakh
  34. ^ "Armenian Crimes". Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  35. ^ "Armenian Crimes". Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  36. ^ "Armenian Crimes". Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  37. ^ The Aghdam state theatre and the statue in front of it were completely destroyed by Armenian forces after 1993 with only the empty gates being left of it.
  38. ^ "Khojaly denialism continues, despite hard proof and survivor testimony". republic-underground.com. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  39. ^ "Armenian Legislative Caucus Urges Colleagues to Reject Azeri Propaganda". asbarez.com. Armenian National Committee of America. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  40. ^ "The Khojaly Genocide Fabrication". anc.org.au. Armenian National Committee of Australia. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  41. ^ "Khojaly a Symbol of Azeri Propaganda, Researchers Say". horizonweekly.ca. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  42. ^ Karim 2000, pp. 180–185.
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