Azerbaijan commemorates victims of 1990 Black January tragedy

Azerbaijan on Monday commemorated the victims of the 1990 Black January tragedy, during which nearly 150 people were killed and 740 others injured in the country's capital Baku.

Azerbaijanis flocked to memorials throughout the country, including the capital Baku, to pay their respects to those who lost their lives during the events.

President Ilham Aliyev also laid a wreath in the Alley of Martyrs memorial in Baku and described the Black January tragedy as having become a "symbol of the struggle for national independence, freedom and invincible will."

He said that Azerbaijanis were subjected to "punitive measures" by the former Soviet army, adding that his people "declared their voice of truth even louder," rather than losing their determination for freedom.

"The full restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty is proof that the blood of all our martyrs, including the victims of the January 20 tragedy, has not gone in vain," Aliyev was quoted as saying in a statement by the Azerbaijani presidency.

Thousands of Azerbaijanis flocked to Baku's Freedom Square (Azadliq Square) in the early 1990s and commenced rallies to protest the Soviet government and increasing Armenian demands for territory.

On the night of Jan. 20, on the orders of the Soviet leadership, 26,000 troops entered Baku and started suppressing the rallies in which 147 people were killed and 744 others were injured. Those killed were buried in what is now known as the Alley of Martyrs.

Every year on Jan. 20, Azerbaijan remembers the tragic events surrounding Black January.