The head of the Egypt-Azerbaijan Friendship Group at the House of Representatives (Parliament) of Egypt, Professor Usama al-Abd, on behalf of the group members signed a statement in connection with the Khojaly tragedy and sent it to the head of the Azerbaijan-Egypt Interparliamentary Friendship Group, member of the Azerbaijani parliament, Academician Govhar Bakhshaliyeva.

In the statement, the members of the Egypt-Azerbaijan Friendship Group noted that they shared the pain and grief related to the tragedy that occurred on Feb. 26, 1992, and expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan.

Egyptian MPs expressed hope that the world community would give a political, legal and fair assessment of the Khojaly tragedy in accordance with the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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