Armenian church, a village “wiped out” in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azeri authorities
Caucasus Heritage Watch has released images that reveal the recent demolition of St. John the Baptist Church, a 19th century structure in the Susa area of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the destruction of a village known in Armenian as Karintak. The church and village, both with significant Armenian heritage, have been under Azeri control since Baku captured Susa from ethnic Armenian forces in November 2020.
The Armenian-built church in Susa, dating from the 19th century, was taken over by Azerbaijan. It was wrapped in scaffolding for most of the time it was under Azeri control, suggesting ongoing construction or restoration. But satellite images of Caucasian Heritage Watch show that the church was demolished during the winter of 2023-24, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Located just 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) south of the demolished church, the Karintak village, known as Dasalti in Azeri, was also razed to the ground. Satellite images released this month show that the entire village has been destroyed. A large mosque is now being built in the place where the church used to be visible to the right of the new construction.
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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the construction site of the new mosque in the razed village, indicating the ongoing transformation in the area, according to RFE/RL. In contrast, Azeri MP Jala Ahmadova in July 2021 posted images of a prayer session inside the Saint John the Baptist Church on Twitter to show “an atmosphere of ethnic and religious tolerance”. However, satellite images suggest a different story with the demolition of the church and the destruction of the village.
Husik Ghulyan, senior researcher at Caucasus Heritage Watch, which released the satellite images of Karintak, told RFE/RL that Azerbaijan's goal was to completely demolish the settlement to rebuild a new village for Azerbaijani internally displaced people or other resettlers. Ghulyan also noted that the village's church was a legally protected heritage site, which is probably why it was left intact during the construction of the mosque.
Lori Khatchadourian, associate professor at Cornell University and the co-founder of Caucasus Heritage Watch, pointed to a broader pattern of destruction within the reclaimed territory of Azerbaijan since 2020.
The group has documented the destruction of 10 heritage sites and is starting a new survey of hundreds of heritage sites.
Khatchadourian suggested that the virtually complete erasure of Armenian heritage in the Azeri exclave of Naxcivan could be a harbinger of what might lie ahead in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ali Mozaffari, an Iranian academic of Azeri descent, was quoted as saying that this cultural destruction might extend beyond a conflict between Baku and Yerevan. Turkey is leading a push to create a unified and connected Turkic world, stretching from Turkey to China, where Turkic languages and cultures are prevalent, he said, explaining that heritage plays a crucial role in justifying this geostrategic vision.
Since the conclusion of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1994, most of Nagorno-Karabakh has been ruled by ethnic Christian Armenians under the Republic of Artakh, also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The rule lasted until the takeover of the republic by Baku in September 2023. More than 100,000 displaced Armenians had to flee the region.
According to the report, Azerbaijani forces illegally arrested and persecuted Armenian citizens, with prominent figures such as Ruben Vardanyan, former Minister of State of Artsakh, among those arrested. Vardanyan is highly regarded for his contributions to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
The conflict had deep historical roots, dating back to the early 20th century when the region was part of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. After decades of sporadic violence, a military offensive by Azerbaijan in 2020 culminated in a large-scale operation to seize the Nagorno-Karabakh regions and surrounding areas from Armenian control. Despite a ceasefire, tensions remained high, with violence and escalating humanitarian crises in the region.
The region was recognized internationally as part of Muslim-majority Azerbaijan even though it had a majority Armenian population.
Swiss human rights group Christian Solidarity International earlier urged US President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on Azerbaijani President Aliyev for policies of ethnic-religious cleansing.
In its 2023 Chasers of the Year report, the American watchdog International Christian Concern listed Azerbaijan among the top 10 nations most hostile to the Christian faith.
Source: www.christianpost.com