Azerbaijan, Armenia Clashes Damage Church As World Rushes For Ceasefire
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Armenia says neighboring Azerbaijan has attacked a historic cathedral in the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh amid raging battles over the contested region.
Wednesday and Thursday’s clashes between the two nations came as talks began at which the United States, France, and Russia want to secure a ceasefire.
Footage seen by Worthy News showed damage to both the interior and exterior of the church in Shusha city.
Shusha’s Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral is an important site for the Armenian Apostolic Church. Reporters saw that the roof collapsed.
Rubble was strewn on the floor, pews were knocked over, and the interior was covered in dust from parts of the building’s limestone walls that had been hit.
A resident, only identified as Simeon, told reporters: “There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church? It is a very important cathedral for Armenians. God will be the judge.”
HUNDREDS DEAD
Hundreds of people have died, and thousands displaced since Azerbaijan and forces backed by neighboring Armenia launched new battles over Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27.
The reported attack on the church and other targets came after buildings and vehicles in the city of Barda in Azerbaijan were heavily damaged by shelling blamed on Armenian forces.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, accuses Armenia of the worst hostilities since 1994 when a truce ended a war that raged for several years. “A ceasefire can not be achieved unilaterally. It must be a bilateral decision. And it must be implemented on the ground,” he said.
“You know, Armenia attacked us on the 27th of September, attacking out military positions and damaging our infrastructure, attacking civilians,” the president added in an interview.
“So far, we have almost 30 civilians killed as a result of Armenian attacks, including ballistic missiles and cluster bombs. So our counterattack was successful. We managed to liberate part of the occupied territories,” Aliyev stressed.
ARMENIANS CONTROL
While Nagorno-Karabakh is inside Azerbaijan, it has been under the control of ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia for more than a quarter-century. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made clear he wants to protect the ethnic Armenians against Azerbaijani forces and its military allies. He said the international community “should decisively act now and recognize the independence of Karabakh.”
Pashinyan said international recognition was crucial “bearing in mind terrorist groups are fighting on the Azerbaijani side which are involved in the hostilities.”
He claimed those forces are “recruited and transported to the conflict zone by Turkey.” The prime minister added that it was crucial to realize that “Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh at the very moment that I am speaking to you are under an existential threat because all the towns and villages are under constant shelling by rockets and missiles.”
Among the areas targeted was the region’s capital city Stepanakert, he noted. As the clashes continued, residents in Stepanakert picked through the rubble of their destroyed homes.
Some of them appeared desperate as they sought underground shelter as the city faced repeated artillery attacks.
INTERNATIONAL WORRIES
There is international concern about the fighting and its potential impact on stability in the South Caucasus and beyond. Azerbaijan’s pipelines carry Azeri oil and natural gas to world markets, including Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to secure a ceasefire with support from the United States and France. He says the attacks in the Nagorno-Karabakh region should stop immediately.
“This fighting is a tragedy. We are very concerned. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, the people who live in these territories, are no strangers to us,” he told Russian television.
“It is enough to mention that there are two million Azeris in Russia and, according to our estimation, over two million Armenians. This [conflict]
is a great tragedy. People are dying. There are losses on both sides. We hope that this conflict will end in the very near future,” Putin said, adding that it is time for a ceasefire.
But for now, residents are caught in the crossfire, fearing for their lives. Pope Francis has urged for a negotiated settlement for the conflict. And the pope says he is praying for peace in the turbulent region. As families search for safety here, a new round of peace talks was underway at which the United States, France, and Russia hope to prevent a wider war.
Washington, Paris, and Moscow are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group. It has led mediation in decades of conflict over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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