We strongly condemn this massacre and the ongoing occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia

On 26 February 1992, by the troops of Republic of Armenia during their attack in Khojaly town in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region, 613 innocent Azerbaijani citizens including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly were brutally massacred, hundreds more were wounded. Also more than a thousand people were taken hostages. The fate of the missing people is still unknown today.

In the late evening of February 25th linking February 26 , 1992, troops of the Republic of Armenia, in an attack at the town of Khojaly in Nagorno-Karabakh, brutally massacred a total of 613 innocent Azerbaijani citizens, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly. 487 people, of which 76 were children were wounded, and 1,275 people were taken hostage. The fate of 150 persons remains unknown to this day.

Turkey commiserates deeply with her Azerbaijani brothers and sisters over this violent attack and massacre which they suffered exactly 28 years ago today in Khojaly and shares their pain wholeheartedly. We vehemently condemn these massacres carried out by the troops of the Republic of Armenia as well as the continued occupation of the Azerbaijani territories for years.

As one of the dark pages in human history, the Khojaly Massacre, given its outcome, continues to be a concern for peace, tranquility, security and stability in the region. As a result of this ruthless, inhuman attack against the civilian population and the ongoing occupation, close to one million of our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters have been forced out of their homeland and doomed to live their lives as displaced persons for more than a quarter of a century. Witnesses and victims of this act are still alive. Hence, the occurrences in Khojaly are not simply a historic incident, but a grim reality of today.

We reiterate, once again, that the international community should assign the warranted importance for this massacre and deliver a justified response in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, so that such aggressions which cast a bloody stain for humanity are not repeated. We stand in solidarity with our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters in their rightful cause. We, hereby, reiterate our call for the perpetrators of this act to be brought to justice per the international law and for Armenia to withdraw as soon as possible from the Azerbaijani territories it has occupied.

We remember with mercy our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the Khojaly massacre and convey our sympathies and condolences to all the people of Azerbaijan.