The Azerbaijani Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that the remains of four individuals were recovered in Khojaly, a city known to Armenians as Ivanyan, situated within Nagorno-Karabakh. The ministry’s official site carried the report, and national media subsequently echoed the update to inform the public about this development.
Authorities confirmed that the identified remains belonged to at least four people, including what appears to be a child of about four or five years. The evidence indicates signs of torture and bindings around the wrists. Based on physical characteristics and the manner of burial, investigators concluded that the bodies were interred roughly twenty to twenty-five years ago, pointing to a long-hidden chapter of violence that had lain underground until recent construction and renovation work in the town center, near a former carpet factory, brought it to light.
The operation involved international oversight, with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross present on-site during the excavations. Their involvement highlighted the sensitivity of uncovering such evidence in a region with a fraught history and ongoing disputes. Officials described the process as careful and necessary to establish facts for accountability and collective memory moving forward.
In parallel political statements, a former ambassador to Azerbaijan signaled plans to relocate a substantial number of residents from the Karabakh region, underscoring the humanitarian and demographic dimensions tied to the broader crisis. Earlier, Azerbaijan had brought a legal action before the International Criminal Court regarding Karabakh, framing the situation within an international justice context and urging accountability at the highest levels of international law and governance.