After the military aggression on September 19, 2023 and the subsequent ethnic cleansing, the Azerbaijani authorities resumed the destruction of Armenian monuments in the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh on a new scale.
We have already talked in various articles about what happened to a number of Armenian cultural monuments in the territories that after 2020 came under the control of Azerbaijan. Among these cultural monuments are a monument dedicated to the Great Patriotic War in the village of Avetaranots, a memorial to Marshal Khanferyants, the Hadrut Church, the grave of Sgnakh, the Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Mekhakavan and others
After the September 19 aggression, one of the most striking cases was the Vankasar church in the Martakert region, on the road from Stepanakert to Martakert. On February 5, the Azerbaijani account Experience Azerbaijan on the X platform published a video showing how the cross from the dome was removed from the church.
The Azerbaijani account invites tourists to visit Azerbaijan and occupied Artsakh and calmly shows footage showing an Armenian church being vandalized.
David Sargsyan, Mkhitar Karapetyan