ISTANBUL

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Yousef al-Othaimeen has called for the “immediate” and “unconditional” withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azeri territories. 

Al-Othaimeen made the assertion at a Monday ceremony in the Saudi city of Jeddah to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1992 Khojali massacre, in which hundreds of Azeri civilians -- including children -- were killed by Armenian forces.

“The Khojali massacre was the result of Armenia’s illegitimate occupation of Azeri territory,” he said.

Al-Othaimeen called on OIC member-states to urge Armenia to end its occupation of Azeri land and “abide by international law and respect Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity”.

The massacre, which took place on Feb. 25 and 26 of 1992, is regarded as one of the bloodiest episodes in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan (1988-1994) for control of the latter’s Upper Karabakh region, which remains occupied by Armenia.

Following the Soviet Union’s dissolution, Armenian forces took over the town of Khojali in Upper Karabakh after battering it with artillery and tank fire.

The two-hour offensive left 613 Azeris dead, including 116 women and 63 children, and left almost 500 others critically injured, according to official Azeri figures.

Roughly 150 of the 1,275 Azeris captured at the time by Armenian forces still remain missing.

Reporting by Hamza Tekin; Writing by Mohamed Sabry Emam Muhammed