[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 37 (Thursday, February 28, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         OBSERVING THE 27TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KHOJALY MASSACRE

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                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2019

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, I rise in observance of the victims of the 
Khojaly Massacre, a barbarous atrocity committed against innocent 
Azerbaijani civilians. Tuesday, February 26, marked the 27th 
anniversary of this bloody episode.
  The story is all too tragic. Khojaly, in the region of Nagorno-
Karabakh, was surrounded by Armenian and Soviet troops in the fall of 
1991. After bombarding the city these troops attacked on the night of 
February 25 and 26, killing 600 innocent Azerbaijanis, including 
elderly people, women, and children. Hundreds more were left severely 
disabled from the attacks. Over fifty people were killed with wanton 
brutality, many children lost parents, and eight whole families were 
wiped out.
  Human Rights Watch described these attacks as a ``massacre'' and in a 
1992 report stated that the attacks by Armenian and Soviet forces, 
``deliberately disregarded [the] customary law restraint on attacks.'' 
This massacre remains the darkest chapter in the Azerbaijan-Armenian 
conflict.
  Unfortunately, the dispute over Nagorno Karabakh is still ongoing, 
despite the United States and the international community not 
recognizing the independent rule of the region and supporting a 
negotiated settlement. I call on all parties involved to find a 
peaceful resolution to this decades old conflict.
  I encourage my colleagues to join with me and the Azerbaijani people 
as they remember this tragedy.

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