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Following the 5th anniversary (Nov. 10, 2020) of the liberation of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region, citizens and officials are visiting the Khojaly Martyrs Cemetery and the historic Friday Mosque in Aghdam, paying tribute to massacre victims and witnessing the restoration of cultural landmarks.
The Khojaly Martyrs Cemetery in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region has been visited by local residents and others since the area was liberated from occupation.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenians pursuing territorial claims on Azerbaijan launched attacks and in 1992 carried out one of the bloodiest massacres of the 20th century, killing civilians en masse and torturing captives.
Most victims were women, children, and the elderly, with many of the 613 victims buried at the Homeland War Martyrs Cemetery near the city of Aghdam.
After the region was liberated in 2020, researchers could not identify which grave belonged to whom. Gravestones were erected, and the area was restored.
Visitors paying respects at the Khojaly cemetery experience emotional moments as they pray for the massacre’s victims.
“Unfortunately, Russia-backed Armenians also occupied Aghdam and destroyed this cemetery,” said Serdar Unsal, vice president of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Friendship Associations Federation, speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA). “They opened all graves and even removed the gold teeth of some victims.”
Unsal emphasized that the Khojaly massacre constitutes a genocide. “This is genocide, it is savagery. In no culture are human remains desecrated or teeth extracted. The free world must recognize this, and justice must be served. The European Court of Human Rights should recognize the Khojaly Massacre as a genocide,” he said.
He added that after Aghdam’s liberation, people who had fled Khojaly and returned to visit their relatives’ graves found the graves opened and remains scattered.
The historic Friday Mosque in Aghdam, Karabakh, has been restored and reopened for worship following liberation from Armenian occupation.
Built 157 years ago, the mosque was destroyed during the 1992 occupation, with its minarets repurposed as observation towers. The mosque was restored after Azerbaijani forces regained control five years ago and now welcomes visitors and worshippers.
Known as the Aghdam Grand Mosque, it houses a stone that had been given to Heydar Aliyev during the occupation, which was later returned after liberation, and a Qur’an brought from Mecca by President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mihriban Aliyeva.
Eldar Kerimov, guiding visitors, said the mosque was built in 1868 by Azerbaijani architect Kerbelayi Sefihan Karabagi. He explained the occupation and restoration process: “Our region and mosque were occupied in 1992-1993. In 2020, our glorious army liberated Karabakh and Aghdam. After 2020, our mosque was restored.”
Kerimov added that the stone given to Heydar Aliyev during the occupation was returned to the mosque after liberation, fulfilling Aliyev’s promise that it would one day return. The Qur’an, a gift from the Azerbaijani president and his wife, is also displayed in the mosque.
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