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Newsweek magazine reported
"Many were killed at close range while trying to flee; some had their faces mutilated, others were scalped" (March 16, 1992)
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Source : Administrator   
Thursday, 21 February 2008

JEAN-IVE-YUNET, journalist (France)

...We happened to be the witnesses of  Khojaly massacre, we saw the dead — bodies of hundreds of civilians — women, children, old-age people and defenders of Khojaly. We managed to fly by helicopter, we were taking photographs of everything we saw around Khojaly at a height of a bird's flight. However Armenians started shooting our helicopter and we couldn't manage to finish our job. That was a terrible scene. I heard a lot about wars, about cruelty of German fascists, but Armenians went beyond them, killing 5 or 6 year-old children, innocent people. We saw a lot of injured people in hospitals, carriages, even in kindergarten and school buildings.

Belykh 'Izvestia' newspaper reporter

...The dead-bodies exchanged for the alive hostages are occasionally brought to Agdam. You won't see it even in a nightmare: pierced out eyes, cut off ears, scalped heads, cut off heads. A number of corpses were dragged by ropes after the armed personnel carriers. There was no limit to humiliation.


CHINGHIZ MUSTAFAYEV, Azerbaijan Television reporter:


... Dozens and dozens of shot dead people (most of them point-blank through the head), children aged from 2 to 15, women, old age people. The location of the corpses proves that it was a cold-blooded slaughter, there were no signs îf resistance or attempts to escape.
Some civilians were shot separately, the others were killed in groups, or families. Some corpses have several wounds but every corpse has at least one wound in the head. It means  that the wounded were finished off afterwards.
The   camera   witnessed   several children with their ears cut off. The skin from the left part of the woman's face was missing. Men were scalped. There were corpses with signs of pillage. First time we arrived at the scene of massacre by two war helicopters on February 28. Up from the helicopter we saw the mountainside of about 500 meters long filled with corpses. The pilots were scared of landing because the area was controlled by Armenian bandits. However when managed to land and stepped onto the land the shooting started. Internal Ministry men were to load the corpses and take them to the relatives of the dead. They managed to load only 4 corpses. We were all shocked. Two men after seeing so many dead and mutilated corpses fainted. Many people got sick.
The same thing happened on March 2, when we flew there with foreign journalists. Many dead-bodies were even more mutilated than before. They had been scoffed at for several days...

Shamil Sabiroghly - camera-man


On that day we found frozen men and women on the ways and in the forest and carried them to the hospital train. We wanted to shoot with camera, but were shot. "Lie down, Come back!" We heard these orders. But an English reporter didn't obey and went ahead. Either he didn't understand that situation was very tense, or he wanted to gather more material. We used every chance to shoot dead bodies. But as they continued to shoot, we were obliged to return back. The distance between Armenians and us was only 50-60 meters, not more.

Sariyya - a journalist


On that day we were in our neighbor’s house. She felt ill, and my mother was milking their cow. Suddenly we heard reports of guns. We went to the cattle house. Other neighbors - Esmira - Armenian by nationality, aunt Dilbar and her husband Balakishi were there too. We stayed there several hours, then we understood that the shooting won't stop. People were at a loss, they run in Katik wood's direction. We crossed the Khojaly river. Some of us drowned in the river. Esmira (Armenian)'s husband Ibish was weak hearted. He couldn't bear and his heart broke out. His son Rafig was running away with his mother and other Khojalians. As his mother was Armenian, Rafig covered her head with a kerchief, in order not to be recognized. They reached Aghdam. Her other son Eldar said that he couldn't leave his mother there. So Esmira left for Russia. But she couldn't live without her husband and sons. She drank essence and died there. It was one of the troubles of tragedy.
Some of women jumped from the top of the mountains and died. Most of villagers died in the place called "Garachay". My mother was shot in the heart and she died near the village of Shelli.
Some of the villagers lost their way and stayed in the forest. They stayed there for 12 days. These women were so brave and courageous. They didn't want to be caught by the enemy. They knew that being caught Armenians would insult them, the women were very hungry. They were pulling the rinds of trees and eating them; at this time, dressed in white-snow Armenians were looking for them, they were calling them in Azerbaijanian language. But they could not deceive them, the brave women hid. Taking by bushes somehow they reached Aghdam.
Some of people hid in the cellars, basements of the houses, in the cattle houses. Those could not escape, died of fear and terror.

Leonid Kravets, officer, major


On February 26 I was taking the wounded out of Stepanakert by helicopter and returning through
Askeran gap. Some bright spots downwards took my eye. We started to descend and my co-pilot cried: 'Look! There are women and children over there'. I saw about two hundred corpses scattered down the hillside. Armed men were walking among them. Then we flew there trying to pick up corpses. Militia captain, I can't remember his name, was with us. He found his 4-year-old son with crashed skull and he went out of his mind. The other child that we had managed to pick up before they started shooting had his head cut off. I saw mutilated bodies of women, children, old — age people everywhere. ..

YURI YAKHOVITCH, the private of infantry regiment 366.


...They persuaded that we were Christians and we had to fight against Moslems. They kept us in' awful subhuman conditions, we couldn't bear being there and we had to desert the regiment and escape to Khojaly

 

Official Data

KILLED                   :613
WOMEN                  :106
CHILDREN               :83 
FAMILIES               :8
BECAME DISABLED :476
HOSTAGES             :1275