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The Khojaly Massacre, also known as the Khojaly tragedy, was the killing of at least 161 ethnic Azerbaijani civilians from the town of Khojaly on 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian and, partially, by CIS armed forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. According to the Azerbaijani side, as well as Memorial Human Rights Center, Human Rights Watch and other international observers, the massacre was committed by the ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly with help of the Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment, apparently not acting on orders from the command.〔Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell〕〔''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh'', vol. 1245 of Human rights documents, Human Rights Watch, 1992, p. 24〕 The death toll claimed by Azerbaijani authorities is 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children.〔 The event became the largest massacre in the course of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.〔 Western governments and the western media refer to it as the "Khojaly massacre", "Khojaly tragedy" or the "Battle for Khojaly". Azerbaijani sources〔()〕 occasionally refer to the massacre as "Khojaly genocide" ((アゼルバイジャン語:Xocalı soyqırımı)) and the "Khojaly tragedy" ((アゼルバイジャン語:Xocalı faciəsi)). ==Background== During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis became victims of pogroms and ethnic cleansing, which resulted in numerous casualties and displacement of large groups of people.〔 By 1992 the conflict had escalated into a full-scale war. In February 1992 the capital of Karabakh, Stepanakert, was under a blockade and constant bombardment by Azerbaijani forces.〔Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. ''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh''. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1992. pp. 12–13. By the winter of 1991–92, as a result of Azerbaijan’s three-year economic and transport blockade, Nagorno Karabakh was without fuel (though it did have natural gas), electricity, running water, functioning sanitation facilities, communications facilities, and most consumer goods... Life in Stepanakert during the Helsinki Watch visit in April 1992 was at a standstill...〕 The town of Khojaly was on the road from Shusha and Stepanakert to Agdam and had the region's only airport. The airport was of vital importance for the survival of the population in Karabakh, which had no land connection with the Republic of Armenia and was under a total blockade by Azerbaijan. According to reports from Human Rights Watch, Khojaly was used as a base for Azerbaijani forces shelling the city of Stepanakert. The indiscriminate shelling and sniper shooting killed or maimed hundreds of civilians, destroyed homes, hospitals and other objects that are not legitimate military targets, and generally terrorized the civilian population.〔〔The Armenian account states that in the situation of complete blockade and continuous shelling of Stepanakert the Karabakh Armenians had no choice but to seize Khojaly to stop the bombardment. ''Torosyan Tigran. Conflict Resolution in the Framework of International Law: Case of Nagorno Karabakh. 2010.''〕 Khojaly was shelled by Armenian forces almost daily during the winter of 1991–1992, and people grew accustomed to spending nights in basements.〔Human Rights Watch. Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. ISBN 1-56432-081-2〕 During the winter of 1992, Armenian forces went on the offensive, forcing almost the entire Azerbaijani population of the enclave to flee, and committing what HRW describes as "unconscionable acts of violence against civilians" as they fled.〔 In 1988 the town had 2,135 inhabitants. Due to the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the population exchanges between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Meskhetian Turk refugees leaving Central Asia and subsequently settling in Khojaly, this number had grown to about 6,000 by 1991.〔(Доклад общества «Мемориал» ) (Memorial). Независимая газета, 18 June 1992〕 In October 1991, the Nagorno Karabakh forces cut the road connecting Khojaly and Aghdam, so that the only way to reach the town was by helicopter. Khojaly was defended by local OMON forces under the command of Alif Hajiyev, which numbered about 160 or so lightly armed men.〔 Before the attack, the town had been without electricity and gas for several months.〔Hugh Pope, "Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world", New York: The Overlook Press, 2006, p. 59, ISBN 1-58567-804-X〕 According to Memorial, from autumn 1991 Khojaly was practically blockaded by the Armenian armed forces, and after the withdrawal of the Soviet Internal Troops from Karabakh the blockade became total. Some inhabitants left the blockaded town, but the civilian population was not fully evacuated, despite insistent demands of the head of executive power of Khojaly E.Mamedov. According to British journalist Thomas De Waal the tragedy in Khojaly was a result of a spontaneous, rather than "deliberately planned" action by the Armenians. However, in the book about the conflict de Waal states that "the killings may, at least in part, have been a deliberate act of mass killing as intimidation". A report published in 1992 by Human Rights Watch stated that their inquiry found that the Azerbaijani OMON special units and "the militia, still in uniform and some still carrying their guns, were interspersed with the masses of civilians". Yet according to HRW "the attacking party was obliged to suspend an attack if it becomes apparent that the attack may be expected to cause civilian casualties that are excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated", and that "Armenian forces and the troops of the 366th CIS regiment deliberately disregarded this customary law restraint on attacks".〔Denber Rachel. ''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh''. New York: Helsinki Watch, September 1992, pp. 19–21. ISBN 1-56432-081-2.〕 The same report notes that Armenian fighters had maintained that "they () made an ultimatum to Azerbaijani forces in Khojaly warning that unless missile attacks from that town on Stepanakert ceased, Armenian forces would attack".〔Denber Rachel. ''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: Escalation of the Armed Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh''. New York: Helsinki Watch, September 1992, p. 20. ISBN 1-56432-081-2.〕 Helsinki Watch reported from Stepanakert that its delegates witnessed widespread damage in Armenian civilian areas, including to schools, homes and hospitals.〔Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh By Rachel Denber, Robert K. Goldman, Helsinki Watch (Organization : U.S.) – page 34〕 Before the massacre, Khojaly was shelled daily, and was totally blockaded, with no supply of electricity, gas and water.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Khojaly Massacre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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