Armenia marks 105th anniversary of genocide

Armenia's president and prime minister on Friday marked 105 years since start of Armenian gecide in a solemn commemoration in Yerevan.

Armenia has sharply curtailed this year's commemoration due to concerns about spre of new coronavirus.

This year, only President, Prime Minister, Speaker of National Assembly of Armenia and Catholicos of All Armenians visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to lay flowers.

24 April 1915 is recognised as official starting date of Armenia's horrors, in which 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by Ottomans.

relentless campaign of erication actually lasted some eight years.

Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan called on international community to continue process of recognition of gecide.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around time of World War I, an event widely viewed by gecide scholars as to first gecide of 20th century.

Turkey, a successor of Ottoman Empire, denies that deaths constituted gecide, saying toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.