Azernews.Az

Fuat Oktay, the vice president of Turkiye, has paid tribute to the martyrs who gave their lives 33 years ago to ensure Azerbaijan's independence, Azernews reports citing a tweet of the vice president.

"May the Almighty rest the souls of the heroes whose pain echoes in our hearts. May Azerbaijan live forever," the tweet said.

On January 20, 1990, 40,000 strong Soviet troops entered the Azerbaijani capital Baku from several directions, invading the city in a desperate, brutal, and yet futile attempt to strangle the growing independence movement and to prevent the fall of the Soviet communist regime in Azerbaijan and punish ordinary people who had rallied on the streets to voice their legitimate protest against the violation of their homeland's territorial integrity.

Some 137 people were killed, 611 were wounded, 841 were illegally arrested, and five went missing as a result of the intrusion of troops into Baku and other regions of the country.

January 20, 1990, is marked in the modern history of Azerbaijan as one of the most tragic days of the country, and at the same time as a heroic page.

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