Hundreds march through Yerevan to mark Armenian Genocide anniversary

By Nathan Morley

Hundreds of Armenians have marched through Yerevan to mark the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Those in attendance gathered in a central square, carried burning torches, set light to Turkish and Azerbaijani flags, and paraded in a procession escorted by an orchestra.

Today marks the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, where 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 -1923 by the Ottoman Empire.

Armenians say they were deliberately targeted for extermination through famine, forced labor, expulsion, death marches, and massacres.

While Turkey accepts that many died in that era, Ankara has rejected the term genocide, saying the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil disorder during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire.

The commemoration takes place every year, and it ends with crowds carrying torches to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.

Two years ago, U.S. President Joe Biden recognized the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Turkish officials were angered by Biden's declaration.

In Athens, the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias issued a message to mark the anniversary saying preserving the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide is the minimum duty of all humanity. ‘Our thoughts today are with the Armenians of our homeland and with the entire world’.