In a procession to a hilltop memorial in the capital Yerevan, Armenians will carry candles and flowers to lay at an eternal flame, as members of the diaspora that fled as a result of the slaughter commemorate the sombre anniversary in cities thousands of miles away
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande are expected to be among a handful of leaders to travel to Armenia for the commemorations
In an unusual ceremony on Thursday April 23,2015, the Armenian Church conferred sainthood on those massacred by Ottoman forces a century ago, in what was believed to be the biggest canonisation service in history
Ex-Soviet Armenia and the huge Armenian diaspora worldwide have battled for decades to have the World War I massacres at the hands of the Ottoman forces between 1915 and 1917 recognised as a targeted genocide.
More than 20 nations -- including France and Russia -- have so far recognised the Armenian genocide, a definition supported by numerous historians
US President Barack Obama on Thursday would only go so far as to describe the World War I massacre as "terrible carnage"
German President Joachim Gauck was expected to draw an angry reaction from Turkey after he condemned the massacres as genocide for the first time, speaking at a religious service commemorating the bloodletting.
Turkey on Wednesday April 22,2015 recalled its ambassador to Vienna in response to Austrian lawmakers` decision to condemn the massacre as "genocide"
Turkey has said up to 500,000 were killed, but mostly due to war and starvation, and rejects the use of that term.
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