Eyewitness of Meshali massacre: "My mother was killed by a gang that included Vagif Khachatryan"

Vagif Khachaturyan and his family incited other Armenians to commit provocations against Meshali residents, Suleyman Mahmudov, a witness of the Meshali genocide, told Report's Western Bureau.

He said that his mother was killed by an armed group that included Khachatryan: "That was terrible. They were not able to capture a part of Meshali, so they raided the village from the outskirts. We managed to get the women and children out of the village, albeit with difficulty. The rest of the residents were detained by the armed gang. The armed group that included Vagif Khachatryan surrounded our house. I told my little brother to take my father and mother out of the house. When they tried to leave the village, they were shot by Armenians and one of the bullets hit him in the head. My mother Mahmudova Surayya Alish died right there."

According to the eyewitness, armed Armenians killed four people from one family and five people from another family in the village: "If we didn't get help, a bigger tragedy would have happened. On that day, we were able to drive Vagif Khachatryan and other Armenian barbars like him out of there. But unfortunately, we couldn't destroy them. Thankfully, even though years have passed, one of them was detained. Holding Vagif Khachatryan to account will be a consolation for me, as his hands are soaked in the blood of my mother, my relatives and my fellow villagers."

Another interviewee Kamran Rajabov said that he was a member of the Meshali village self-defense volunteer battalion:

"When the attack on the village started early in the morning, we started fighting the Armenians. I was seriously injured in that fight. My wife took our 1-year-7-month-old son and fled to the forest area. They were frostbitten in the snowy and stormy weather. My son died and my wife was injured. I was taken out of the village to Aghdam."

The witness emphasized that the Armenians repeatedly tried to evict the residents from the village: "Once they tried to block the river to cut off our water. But they couldn't. Then they set up a post on the road from Badara village and closed the road so that there is no access to the village by car. Even then we found another way and again the attempts failed. In the end, they armed themselves and attacked."

He said that he knew Vagif Khachatryan's father Cherkez and his brother Ilya:

"They were nationalists. They were preparing provocations by inciting the Armenians living in Badara village against us. Vagif Khachatryan and his brother were among the armed group members that attacked our village. Even the soldiers of the Russian army, along with the Armenians, were shooting at our villagers. The news about the detention of Khachatryan, a participant in the murders committed against our people, was a joy for us. We are very grateful to Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev for making it happen. Thanks to him and the power of our army, the savages who committed crimes against our people years ago are getting their punishment. I hope the others will also be held accountable."