The ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Baku was an organized campaign of killings — Liyah Babayan

2026-01-21

On January 13, 1990, mass violence against the Armenian population of Baku began and continued for about a week. The actions, which were initiated with the encouragement and acquiescence of the authorities, were premeditated and organized in nature. Pogromist groups carried out attacks primarily on Armenian-owned apartments, shops, and workplaces, operating on the basis of previously identified addresses.

The situation escalated on January 13 after a mass rally attended by tens of thousands, when demonstrators chanting anti-Armenian slogans invaded Armenian-populated areas in various parts of the city. According to eyewitness accounts, the violence included beatings, looting, murders, and acts of torture; hundreds of Armenians were injured, and many families were forced to abandon their homes in order to survive.

One of the hundreds of Armenians who witnessed Azerbaijani atrocities and was forced to leave her homeland as a result is Lia Babayan, who eventually settled in the United States together with her family.

In 2018, her autobiographical book “Liminal: A Refugee’s Memoir” was published. Born in Baku, the author recounts in the book the tragic events of Baku in 1990, the violence and massacres carried out against the Armenian population, her family’s escape from Baku, and a child’s perception of war.

In a conversation with the “Geghard” Foundation, Lia Babayan speaks about her experience as a refugee, her life in the United States, her efforts to adapt to a new reality, her search for identity, the dangers of assimilation, and her struggle for survival.

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