Baku: Today marks the anniversary of the Bashlibel tragedy, APA reports. Thirty-three years have passed since the massacre committed in the village of Bashlibel during Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district in April 1993.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, this crime resulted in the torture and massacre of village residents, including children, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly, with some even burned alive. During the occupation, 62 civilians sought refuge in a cave to survive. However, after their location was discovered, Armenian forces launched an armed attack, leading to a massacre.
After the liberation of the Kalbajar district, Azerbaijani authorities discovered the burial site near the cave. The bodies of those killed were interred by fellow villagers. The remains were exhumed, identified, and reburied individually. Testimonies from surviving witnesses confirm that some residents were taken hostage, and some remain missing.
Bashlibel, one of the oldest and largest v
illages in the Kalbajar district, experienced the destruction of its historical, cultural, and religious sites during the occupation.