BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 20. January 20 is a torch lit in the name of freedom of Azerbaijan, Turkish Ambassador Cahit Bagci told reporters, TurkicWorld reports.

"If someone dies for the land, then it's the Motherland. January 20 is a torch lit in the name of freedom. That night the heroes sacrificed their lives. Today's date is the day when the desire for freedom began. We pray for God's mercy to all our martyrs. We believe that all martyrs live and will live forever in the hearts of not only the people of Azerbaijan, but also the people of Türkiye," Bagci said.

The 34th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy is marked today.

On the night of January 19-20, 1990, as a result of military aggression of the units of the Soviet Army and special forces, as well as contingents of internal troops against Azerbaijan, civilians, including children, women and elderly were massacred in the cities of Baku, Sumgayit, Lankaran and Neftchala by order of the USSR leadership.

As a result of the occupying forces’ military aggression 149 civilians were killed, 744 were seriously injured, and four people went missing. The Soviet army sent to the country in order to forcefully suppress the mass protests of the Azerbaijani people and the national independence movement started in response to the discrimination policy of the USSR leadership against the people of Azerbaijan, the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands in the territory of present-day Armenia, and Armenia’s unfounded territorial claims against Karabakh, committed an unprecedented massacre against the civilian population grossly violating international law and the Constitution.