A video has emerged on social media platforms showing a suspected Azerbaijani soldier or Syrian mercenary screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greater) while standing on the top of a chapel in Karabakh in Armenia. It is believed that the video was filmed recently. Others were heard repeating Allahu Akbar after him.
Jihaddist-mercenaries brought by @presidentaz & @RTErdogan to conquer #Artsakh are doing exactly what they are supposed to do with #Armeinan cultural heritage.@UNESCO @Jos_Douma @NLMFAEurope @MFA_Lu @BuZaTweedekamer @nl_intrelations pic.twitter.com/3mwsH4hQ5S
— Tigran Balayan (@tbalayan) November 14, 2020
Armenian Church destroyed
Just a day before the said video was released, photos of a desecrated church in Armenia had appeared online. The Church was located in the strategic city of Shushi in the Karabakh region. Azerbaijan’s leadership had promised that they would protect the Armenian people of Karabakh. They also stated that they would preserve the culture and heritage of the community. However, the recent desecration of churches has made it clear that the Baku administration is not interested in protecting these sites.
It has barely been a few days and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi has already been vandalized by Azerbaijani occupiers (1).
— Serge (@Zinvor) November 14, 2020
Reminder that the original vandalism were the two Turkish precision drone strikes that critically damaged the cathedral during the war (2, 3, 4). pic.twitter.com/2oCST0vuei
As per the reports, a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh’s city of Shusha was shelled by the Azerbaijani forces. AFP reported severe damage to the church. Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church, had a gaping hole in the roof created due to shelling in October.
Another Church in Baku was demolished by Azerbaijani forces, and it was converted in to a restaurant.
Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said, “Enemy Azerbaijan hit the symbol of Shushi — the Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots.” AFP quoted a resident Simeon who lives near the church saying, “There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church.?”