Baku: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan has issued a statement on 31 March - the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the statement marks the 108th anniversary of the atrocities committed by radical Armenian groups against the Azerbaijani people. The massacres in March 1918, led by armed units of the Baku Soviet and members of the 'Dashnaksutyun' party, are highlighted as grave manifestations of ethnic cleansing. Historical records, including accounts by Stepan Shaumyan, then Extraordinary Commissar of the Caucasus, reveal that these acts were motivated by ethnic hatred under the guise of combating counter-revolutionary forces. The statement details that tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis were systematically killed in regions such as Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Garabagh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan, Shirvan, and Iravan. In Quba alone, over 16,000 civilians were killed, and 167 settlements were destroyed. Additionally, religious and cultural sites, includi ng mosques and historical monuments, were deliberately targeted. The Ministry notes that after the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, efforts were made to investigate and raise international awareness of these events. However, the fall of the Republic delayed a political and legal assessment. It was not until the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence that proper assessments were made through the 1998 decree signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev. The statement emphasizes that the policy of genocide continued into the late 20th century with the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from present-day Armenia, the Khojaly genocide, and other war crimes. It concludes by affirming that the people of Azerbaijan will never forget these tragic historical events and commemorates the victims with deep sadness.