Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijanis held a peaceful picket outside the European Union headquarters in Brussels to bring awareness to Armenian war crimes, Azernews reports per the State Committee for Work with Diaspora of Azerbaijan.

According to the committee, the picket was organized by the representatives of the Federation of Azerbaijanis in Belgium. Representatives of the Federation of Azerbaijanis in Belgium, the European Azerbaijani Women's Union Ana Vatan (Motherland), Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress (BAC), as well as Azerbaijani diaspora activists living in Belgium and in the Netherlands, participated in the picket.

The pickets drew city residents’ attention to the war crimes committed by the Armenians against Azerbaijanis, the mass grave found in the village of Edilli of Azerbaijan’s Khojavand District, and the missile strikes carried out by Armenia on Azerbaijani cities - Ganja, Naftalan, Barda, Mingachevir, and others in 2020.

The pickets held slogans "Azerbaijan respects universal values", "We demand that the Armenian armed forces responsible for numerous war crimes be held accountable before the law!" “We call on international organizations to condemn war crimes committed by Armenians!" and “Stop Armenian war crime!”.

Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed the second Karabakh war after the latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10, 2020, with the signing of a trilateral ceasefire deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had been occupied since the early 1990s.

In the war unleashed by Armenia, Azerbaijan's Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Tartar, Gabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other cities and districts far from the war zone, came under Armenia's missile and artillery fire.

International human rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch verified the use of banned cluster bombs and missiles by Armenia in its attacks against Azerbaijani cities.

As a result, 100 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, including 12 children and 27 women. As many as 454 people were injured, including 35 children. Some 181 children lost one parent, five children lost both parents, and one family died. In total, 12,292 residential and non-residential buildings and 288 vehicles were damaged.

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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

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