11 April 2021, 11:39
Karabakh residents commemorate victims of Maraga tragedy
Participants of the action in Stepanakert held on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the massacre of residents of the village of Maraga have called on the international community to assess the actions of Azerbaijani militaries. Former Maraga villagers told that as a result of the conflict escalation in 2020, they again became forced migrants.
On April 10, 1992, during the conflict in Maraga, at least 43 villagers were killed; and about 50 others were taken hostage. The community residents founded a new village – Nor Maraga (New Maraga). However, following the last autumn's conflict aggravation, this village ended up in the Baku-controlled territory.
The Nagorno-Karabakh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has stated that "the events in Maraga became a logical continuation of Azerbaijan's regular repressions against the Armenian population."
Rafik Movsisyan, a former Maraga resident, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about the events of 1992. "When we entered the village on April 11, we found the bodies of slaughtered, burned down and tortured to death villagers. This picture has been before my eyes all my life. The houses of the village were destroyed and burned down. My aunt and uncle were among the casualties," he said.
After the First Karabakh War, his family settled in Nor Maraga, but had to leave their home again.
Until April 1992, the family of Svetlana Karapetyan lived in Maraga, then in Nor Maraga, and in November 2020 settled in Stepanakert.
"In November 2020, I also had to leave my house, leaving everything there, because we didn't expect that Nor Maraga would be surrendered to Azerbaijanis," the woman has complained. She hopes that Russian peacemakers will ensure the safety of Karabakh residents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 10, 2021 at 09:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Alvard Grigoryan Source: CK correspondent
