Human Rights Watch reported that main bases used by Azerbaijani armed forces for the bombardment of Stepanakert were the towns of Khojaly and Shusha . In February 1992 , Khojaly was captured by a mixed force of ethnic Armenians and , according to international observers , the 366th Commonwealth of Independent States regiment . After its capture , Khojaly became the site of the largest massacre to occur during the Nagorno-Karabakh war . Human rights Watch estimates that at least 161 Azerbaijani civilians , as well as a number of unarmed hors de combat , were killed as they fled the town . The siege was finally lifted a few months later , in May 1992 , when Armenian forces scored a decisive victory by capturing Shusha
the largest massacre
Khojaly Massacre
Nagorno-Karabakh War