BAKU
Survivors of the massacre during the Azarbaijani-Armenian war in 1992, where 613 Azeri civilians were killed, still can't forget the torture and cruelty they have lived. Survivors of the massacre told about how their loved ones were killed before their eyes by Armenians and their days as prisoners. Solmaz Hasanaliyeva, who escaped the massacre, stated that he still remembered February 25, 1992 as if it was today. Hasanaliyeva stated that his father and brother were killed by Armenians after various methods of torture and his mother, his brother's wife and two nephews were captured by Armenians where he managed to escape as it was very dark. "I can't forget the barbarity and I don't think I ever will. Armenians had no mercy on us, not even for little children. I ran away to the province of Agdam. Trucks full of corpses were brought to Agdam mosque. Limbs were cut out and eyes were taken out in the bodies," stated Hasananiyeva referring to the sight of the massacre. Mustafyeva Ruzande from Khojaly who also can't forget the horrible times said, "The weather was very cold that night. We couldn't get any clothes and started to run towards the forest. We had to cross the river to reach Agdam. Everyone had to jump into the cold waters of the river to escape the gunfire of the Armenians. My pregnant sister tried to run away with her two children. Considering she can't save both, she left her 3-year-old in the forest, hoping someone would find and bring her child. Thank God, someone did and we rejoined two days later." 73-year-old Kanaat Haciyev stated that he fought with the Armenians until he had run out of bullets and helped women escape and pass the river. Haciyev and his friends wanted to go to Agdam and on their way were held back by Armenians who said that they had nothing to do with civilians. Once they reached the village they were raked with machine guns where many died and the remaining were taken prisoners. "They kept us in a very cold and old place for nine days and beat us every day. They didn't give water, I felt like I was going to die from thirst. A teacher died in my arms. They tortured us every day. When we asked why they were doing this, they said 'because you are Turkish.' One day they said they were going to exchange us with other prisoners, so we went to Eskeran. However, there was a difference between the Armenian prisoners and us. They had warm beds, pillows and blankets and were healthy. We were unable to walk so they had to carry us during exchange. They gave one glass of water to five of us and very little food every two days," recalled Haciyev about his days as a prisoner of the Armenians. Haciyev's photo was taken following the exchange of prisoners and he still keeps the photo of those dark days.
