YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms, which have become one of the most tragic and hideous pages in the recent history of the Armenian people. From February 27 to 29, 1988, in the city of Sumgait, located just 40 kilometers from Baku, with the criminal connivance and even at the direction of the Azerbaijani authorities, mass progroms against the Armenian population took place, accompanied by murders, torture and other atrocities, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh. Armed with sharp metal rods, axes, hammers and other improvised means, groups of pogromists, with the complete indifference of the city law enforcement, broke into the apartments of Armenians and retaliated against innocent people with incredible cruelty. During several days of violence, dozens of Armenians were killed, hundreds were brutally beaten and tortured, and thousands were forcibly displaced. The atmosphere of hatred towards Armenians was fueled by anti-Armenian slogans and calls for violence voiced during the rallies. The purpose of these criminal acts, organized by the Azerbaijani authorities, was to create an atmosphere of fear and thereby suppress the peaceful demands of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.