Top official: Int’l NGOs silent on killing of Azerbaijani civilians

By  Trend

The international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that claim to advocate for the human rights, say nothing of the shelling of the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli region and heinous killing of a child and her grandmother, and that is astounding, assistant to the country’s president for foreign policy issues, Department Head Novruz Mammadov tweeted on July 6.

“Had they been fair and sincere on the human rights issues, the officials from the big nations that “attach great attention” to such matters would also speak out on the killing of innocent civilians in Alkhanli, but alas…” Mammadov noted.

On July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district.

As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.