Bashlibel massacre
 | This section contains too many or too-lengthy quotations for an encyclopedic entry. (December 2020) |
| Bashlibel massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War | |
| File:Bashlibel massacre.png | |
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| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Target | Azerbaijani civilians |
| Deaths | 27 |
| Perpetrators | Armed Forces of Armenia |
Bashlibel massacre also known as the Bashilbel tragedy (Azerbaijani: Başlıbel faciəsi) was the massacre of Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Bashlibel of Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan committed by Armenian Armed Forces on 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Background[edit]
In early April 1993, the Kalbajar District was occupied by Armenians following the Battle of Kalbajar. At the time, 73 residents of the Bashlibel village, with a population of about 2,000, could not leave their homes on time and came under siege. On 2 April, a group of villagers tried to break the siege but failed. Nine residents were killed on the road and five were taken hostage. Another 62 people tried to protect themselves by retreating to the mountains.[1]
Massacre[edit]
But they managed to hide for only 18 days. On April 18, the Armed Forces of Armenia launched an armed attack on civilians after discovering their whereabouts. That night, 14 civilians were taken hostage and 18 were killed in an attack on civilians in "Portda" cave, just above the village.[1] The remaining 30 people continued their siege by changing their shelters to other caves in the village. 113 days later, on July 17, they left the shelter and managed to escape the siege of the Armenian army through secret mountain roads, moving only at night. 93-year-old Alasgar Kazimov did not leave his native village and continued his siege life in the shelter.[2][3] At total, 27[4] or 29 elderly persons, women and children were killed and their corpses were subjected to acts of vandalism.[5][6]
Witness statements[edit]
One of the witnesses of the massacre, Ismat Azizov shared his memories of the 113 days of siege life:
On April 4, at around 15-16, an Armenian reconnaissance group inspected the village of Bashlibel in a UAZ car and returned. The next day, the Armenians invaded Bashlibel with greater force. We looked through the turbine and looked at the cars of the Armenians coming to the village one by one - there was 1 ZIL-131, 1 GAZ-66, 1 UAZ. When smoke rose from the village, we were sure that the houses were on fire. When we went up a little, we saw that the village was covered with smoke. We decided to go and consult with the people, we all gathered at the "Portda" cave after the Armenians left the village in the evening in the dark. In fact, on April 3, while still in the village, it was decided to take refuge in the "Portda" cave. The elders did not like our initiative to go to "Cave of Nabi" because it was far away, they said that we should go to "Portda". On April 5, when armed Armenian bandits entered the village in three cars, they first looted and set fire to Kamal Azimov's house, and later set fire to Mukhtarov Goja's house. After that, they entered the houses and began to remove the carpets.
Another member of a group of 62 people who were under siege by the Armenian army in the village of Bashlibel for 113 days, Elshad Azizov said that on the night of April 18–19, Armenians took 14 hostages and killed 18 people who had taken refuge in caves:
After the sudden blizzard, at half past one at night, the main part of the armed Armenian bandits retreated around the "Portda" caves and began to return to the village. But they were not satisfied with the atrocities they committed against the helpless civilians who took refuge in the caves. The bandits, who took the hostages, set fire to the building of Bashlibel village secondary school at that night. Shooting continued in the "Portda". Suspecting that the survivors were still hiding in the caves, four bandits opened fire with PK machine guns. Vugar from Zardab was a real hero who tried to protect the unarmed survivors of cave. He fought to the death and did not allow the Armenians to locate those hiding in the cave. In an instant, Vugar Abdullayev bravely climbed to the entrance of the cave and knocked down all four bandits. While running towards his previous position, a grenade thrown by one of the bandits hit him 3-4 meters from the cave. Vugar was martyred that night.
In culture[edit]
Starting from April 2017, the Regional Center for Human Rights and Media with the support of the Council of State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan launched the project "Bashlibel tragedy: Armenian atrocities in the language of witnesses." The project "Bashlibel tragedy: Armenian atrocities in the language of witnesses" was published in Azerbaijani and English. The book contains information about one of the atrocities committed by Armenians against our people - the Bashlibel tragedy. The publication contains the opinions of living witnesses of the massacre in the village of Bashlibel, the memories of those who made great sacrifices to save the lives of besieged children and old women.[7]
See also[edit]
- Khojaly massacre
- First Nagorno-Karabakh War
- Garadaghly massacre
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Başlıbel faciəsindən 25 il ötdü - Şahidlər danışır..." Moderator.az. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ↑ ""Başlıbel faciəsi: erməni vəhşilikləri şahidlərin dili ilə" kitabının təqdimatı keçirilmişdir". azertag.az (in azərbaycanca). Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ↑ Ordu; Ordu. "26 years pass since Bashlibel tragedy". Retrieved 2020-11-10. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Report on war crimes in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia's responsibility". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Karabakh.org |Wilful killings of civilians - women and children". Karabakh.org. 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ↑ "The Ebrd In Azerbaijan". Wall Switch Manufacturer (in 中文). 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ↑ "Bashlibel Tragedy". Retrieved 2020-12-21.
External links[edit]
- http://supremecourt.gov.az/en/static/view/180
- http://defence.az/ru/news/135254/26-years-pass-since-bashlibel-tragedy
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