Conflict coverage · South Caucasus

Khojaly massacre

26 Feb 1992Key eventKhojaly

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Military & security

Effects & resilience

HumanitarianArmenia–Azerbaijan / Karabakh legacy

Armenian forces, with elements of the former Soviet 366th regiment, attack the town of Khojaly; hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians fleeing the town are killed. Azerbaijan's official toll is 613; independent documentation confirmed at least 161 dead while describing the killing of civilians as the largest massacre of the conflict to that point.

Why it mattersThe war's gravest single atrocity against Azerbaijani civilians and a foundational trauma of modern Azerbaijani identity — invoked in every later escalation, and part of why 2020 carried the charge it did.

Confidence: HighSources: Established historical recordMethodology Corrections

Related structure

3 records that this event names, or that name it. Every one is an explicit reference in a published record — nothing here is inferred from subject matter.

Part of

Campaigns whose record places this event inside them.

Karabakh conflictThe first war and the 1994 ceasefire

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Actor records this event names.

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Caucasus timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.