Will Sumgait witness Jewish massacres?February 10, 2009 - 12:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Several incidents were registered in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, on the night of Feb. 9, sources say. Several apartments belonging to Jews were robbed. According to preliminary data, 12 injured, some of them knifed, were hospitalized. The outbreak of violence is probably conditioned by recent events in the Gaza Strip. Azerbaijan's indignation with the Jewish community dates back to 2006, when Jews openly supported Israel's offensive in Lebanon. At that time, Imam of Juma mosque Ilgar Ibragimoglu made harsh and threatening statements. "I promise Semen Ihilov (the eader of Jewish religious community in Azerbaijan) to demonstrate our solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanese," he said. This morning, head of Sumgait executive branch Vagif Aliyev summoned an extraordinary meeting with national security agents, demanding to find and punish the perpetrators, azertopnews reports. The notorious story of Sumgait started in 1988, when 32 Armenians were reported to be killed and hundreds wounded, with the connivance of the Azerbaijani leadership. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |