Ankara: Trkiye on Wednesday commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, remembering the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces in 1992 in the town of Khojaly in the Karabakh region.

According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the tragedy, saying on X, "On the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, a tragedy we will never forget, I remember with deep sorrow our Azerbaijani brothers who lost their lives." He also extended his condolences to the people of Azerbaijan, emphasizing the unity between the two nations, stating: "We stand united in both good times and bad."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also issued an official statement on its website: "We remember with mercy and respect the precious memory of our innocent Azerbaijani brothers who were massacred in Khojaly exactly 33 years ago, and we carry the pain of dear Azerbaijan in our hearts." The statement condemned the massacre of civilians by Armenian armed forces and reiterated its condolences to the Azerbaijani people.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed his respect for those who lost their lives, saying on X: "I respectfully commemorate our Azerbaijani brothers who lost their lives. Trkiye stands by our beloved Azerbaijan today and always." The Turkish National Defense Ministry described the massacre as a "dark stain on history" and expressed solidarity with its "Turkic brothers."

Soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenian forces took over the town of Khojaly in Karabakh on Feb. 26, 1992, after bombarding it with heavy artillery and tanks. The town was the site of a two-hour Armenian offensive that resulted in the deaths of 613 Azerbaijani civilians, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people, and seriously injured 487 others, according to Azerbaijani figures. Some 150 of the 1,275 Azerbaijanis captured during the massacre remain missing, while eight families were completely wiped out.

The Karabakh region has witnessed mass killings and burials since the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s, during which the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, including Khojaly. In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements in Karabakh from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation. In September 2023, the Azerbaijani army launched an anti-terrorism operation to establish constitutional order in Karabakh, leading to the surrender of illegal separatist forces in the region.

Trkiye was among the first countries to recognize the Khojaly incident as a massacre and has consistently called for justice for its victims.