Turkish parliament speaker marks 1992 Khojaly massacre

By Baris Gundogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman highlighted 1992 Khojaly massacre in a written statement on Saturday.

"The pain of the Khojaly massacre -- still feels like it happened only yesterday -- will not sooth unless the perpetrators are accounted and apologies proffered," said Ismail Kahraman.

The parliament speaker called the United Nations to take a "more active role" on the issue and stop Armenian invasion in Azerbaijani territories.

"We cheer up and sadden together with our Azerbaijani brothers," said Kahraman.

"My biggest expectation is for the world to become a habitable place with peace and tranquility and for these kind of massacres to never happen again."

The massacre on Feb. 25-26, 1992, is regarded as one of the bloodiest and most controversial incidents of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control of the now-occupied Karabakh region.

Armenian forces took over the town of Khojaly in Karabakh on Feb. 26 after battering it with heavy artillery and tanks, assisted by an infantry regiment.

The two-hour offensive killed 613 Azeri citizens, including 116 women and 63 children, and critically injured 487 others, according to Azerbaijani figures.