Azerbaijan National History Museum has hosted an event dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.

The National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was played at the beginning of the event, followed by a minute of silence observed in memory of the martyrs who lost their lives for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and Khojaly genocide victims.

The event was attended by cadets of the Military Lyceum named after J. Nakhchivanski, students of Baku schools and museum staff.

Chief Specialist of the Innovation and Educational Programs Department at National History Museum Aynur Babayeva addressed the event.

In her speech, she recalled the unprecedented crimes committed against hundreds of peaceful and innocent Azerbaijanis during the Khojaly tragedy.

“The Khojaly tragedy is one of the most terrible crimes against humanity in the 20th century. "The massacre committed by the Armenian armed forces on February 26, 1992 in the city of Khojaly was aimed at driving the Azerbaijani people out of their native lands and continuing the occupation policy," Aynur Babayeva said.

A member of the Azerbaijan Writers' Union and the Azerbaijan Union of Journalists, poetess Zarengiz Demirchi stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the tragedy and educating young people in the spirit of patriotism.

She underlined that the great Victory achieved under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev became a symbol of the pride and unity of the Azerbaijani people, demonstrating to the whole world the strength of our state and the inviolability of independence.

The event included the performance "We Have Not Forgotten Khojaly" presented by the Gunay Children's and Youth Theater based on the poem "Give an Answer" by Zarengiz Demirchi.

Staged by Larisa Tarusova, this production was first shown back in 2008 within "Justice for Khojaly" campaign, initiated by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva.

Since then, the play has been presented in many institutions and organizations, universities and high schools.

The opening of the photo exhibition "Khojaly - Our Memory" dedicated to the Khojaly tragedy also took place.

The exhibition featured 36 photographs from the photo archive of the Azerbaijan Photographers' Union.

The photos captured by Mirnaib Hasanov, Shahveled Eyvazov, Khalid Asgarov, Ilgar Jafarov and Oleg Litvin were on display at exhibition, which is a part of the AFB project "36 Frames".