Azerbaijan gets new appeals on those missing during Khojaly genocide

Secretary, head of the Working Group of the State Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People Ismayil Akhundov has said that there are new appeals in connection with those missing during the Khojaly genocide.

“Six out of 30 people registered this year as missing during the first Karabakh war are those missing during the Khojaly genocide,” Akhundov said in an interview with APA.

“To date, the State Commission has registered 196 people missing as a result of the Khojaly genocide. At the moment their number is 202 people. However, there are also new appeals related to the cases of missing people during the Khojaly genocide. All complaints are reviewed and investigated. This number may increase,” he noted.

Akhundov said that a mass grave was discovered in Khojaly on February 23, 2024, from which the remains of about 18 people were exhumed and taken away.

“As a result of anatomical and molecular genetic analysis carried out in the laboratories of the Association of Forensic Medicine and Pathological Anatomy of the Azerbaijani Health Ministry and the Main Military Medical Department of the State Security Service, 10 out of 18 people were identified. It is fully confirmed that those people were killed during the Khojaly genocide. The data collected by the State Commission confirms that these citizens were not killed while fleeing or under fire during an act of genocide, but were killed as a result of torture, contrary to international humanitarian law, after being taken hostage. Moreover, another burial was discovered in Galadaresi village of the Khojaly district in March 2024, and the remains of three people were exhumed. The public was informed. The remains are currently being identified,” he added.