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Moscow authorities once again refused Azerbaijanis and Jews to hold rallies in connection with Aghdam events taken place in 1992, which Azerbaijan calls “Khojalu events” blaming the Armenians in it.

According to the Azerbaijani news agency “Vesti.az” Prefecture of the Central Administrative District of Moscow, refused to authorize the rally organized by the “Azerbaijani-Jewish friendship society” planned to be held on March 3.

“We have applied in advance to hold a picket this Sunday, which aims to honor the victims of Khojalu tragedy. However, they refused us again, like the last time (February 24), referring to the fact that this picket is an interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan, saying as if this rally could be perceived as a violation of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan since July 3, 1997, and interference in the internal affairs of another country,” the agency was told by the Azerbaijani-Jewish friendship society.

As noted by "Vesti.az" at a time when the Russian authorities refused Azerbaijanis to commemorate 613 victims of "Khojalu" events, on February 27, in Moscow, the Union of Armenians of Russia held evening dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the liberation movement for the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and the Armenian Genocide victims in Sumgait.

On February 21 Moscow City Council canceled its authorization for the rally dedicated to the 21st anniversary of the events of 1992, in Aghdam. As the Azerbaijani news agency "APA" was told by one of the organizers of the protest, co-founder of the Azerbaijani-Jewish friendship Society Pasha Alev, as a reason to revoke the permission for the rally "interference in the affairs of another country" was marked.

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Right Watch, and 600 according to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the firing points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others) was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as human shields later.

Residents of Khojalu coming out through the humanitarian corridor, that the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, not far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops dead bodies of the villagers were found. The exact death toll remains unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other. Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev, the investigative materials are kept secret.

Documentary: “Between hunger and fire. Power at the cost of lives”