The Khojaly massacre, the most tragic incident in Azerbaijan`s modern history and one of the main obstacles to the country reconciling with Armenia, was remembered on its 23rd anniversary across İstanbul in the past week.

Armenian armed forces -- one of whose commanders was incumbent Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan -- along with Russia`s 366th Motor Rifle Regiment completely destroyed the city of Khojaly in Nagorno-Karabakh on Feb. 26, 1992.

The massacre was part of the Nagorno-Karabakh war that erupted in the late 1980s between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus.

The Khojaly massacre ended with 613 civilians, most of whom were women and children, being brutally killed while thousands were left disabled, according to official data. Hundreds are still missing.

The events of that night are recounted in a documentary through the eyes of five witnesses, one of whom is Valeh Hüseynov, who was taken hostage for 27 days in Khojaly.

Their stories are featured in the documentary “Endless Corridor,” produced by Emmy award winner Gerald Rafshoon and directed by Lithuanian Aleksandras Brokas. The documentary is narrated by Oscar winner Jeremy Irons.

“Endless Corridor” will be playing at İstanbul`s Kanyon, Cevahir and Palladium Cinemaximum cinemas Feb. 24-26.

Reliving the massacre of 23 years ago, Hüseynov said he was 22 years old and newly married when the incident happened. He was living with his wife when Armenian armed forces entered the city. They were forced to escape to Aghdam, another Azerbaijani city that was considered one of the safer spots in Karabakh during the bloody war. His wife, along with hundreds of people, however, were killed while Hüseynov was taken as a hostage.

“For 27 days I died a thousand deaths,” Hüseynov said, recounting the tortures he was exposed to for a nearly month, including having his fingers broken as he was a guitar player, being beaten each day and being left without food and water.

After falling unconscious and believed to be dead, he was thrown out onto the streets for some time but when his captors realized he was alive, Hüseynov was taken back again for what he says was the “rest of the torture." He was finally exchanged for three Armenian female hostages on his birthday.
“For a month I could not speak or open my eyes. I could only hear what was going around me,” Hüseynov said.

Khojaly together with Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other adjacent Azerbaijani territories are still being occupied by Armenian armed forces, despite four United Nations Security Council resolutions being passed in 1993 calling for the withdrawal of local Armenian troops from Azerbaijani land.

Despite peace negotiations started by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, there have been no positive results so far. Nearly 1 million refugees from the occupied territories are spread across the country and live in poor conditions.

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