Baku–APA. Today is 19th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy. Soviet troops entered into Baku without warning and committed terrible massacre over the night from January 19th to 20th, 1990, APA reports.
Helplessness of the government to prevent the separatist movement in Nagorno Karabakh caused fair protest among the people and hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets demanding the government to resign. It was decided to send troops to Azerbaijan to protect local pro-Moscow government and crack down the protest actions. USSR defense and interior ministries, as well as KGB, state security committee, conducted joint operation in Baku where they used 66 000 troops. The soviet army opened fire on peaceful people, killing 134 and wounding 700. There were more than 20 women and children among the victims of the 20 January tragedy. Despite that long years have passed this boldly event has not received its legal assessment yet.
Every year Azerbaijan and its Diaspora organizations abroad commemorate memory of martyrs on the day of anniversary of the 20 January tragedy.