Azernews.Az

By Sabina Mammadli

Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva is carrying out a mission to detect all facts of the destruction of cemeteries during the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli and Zangilan regions by the Armenian armed forces, Trend has reported referring to the ombudsman’s office.

"As a result of using heavy artillery and prohibited weapons against Azerbaijan upon the Armenian military-political leadership’s instructions, all civilian facilities, settlements, historical, cultural, religious monuments and even cemeteries where our compatriots have been buried were destroyed," the report said.

The cemeteries were monitored during the trip to Fuzuli city and Garakhanbayli, Dadali, Kurdlar villages. Ombudsman carries the next fact-finding mission in Zangilan region. As part of the mission, the Mammadbeyli and Agali village cemeteries destroyed in the Zangilan region were inspected. A report will be prepared and sent to the international and regional organizations.

Some 900 cemeteries with over a million graves were decimated. Azerbaijani gravestones were even used to build stairs to Armenian homes. Car plates of killed and displaced Azerbaijanis were used to decorate public restrooms. Overall, during 30 years of occupation 927 libraries with 4.6 million books, 700 historical monuments and 22 museums with 100,000 exhibits were looted and destroyed by Armenia. Armenia looted and erased more heritage than ISIS terrorists did in Iraq and Syria. It is the worst cultural genocide of the 21st century.

To erase all traces of Azerbaijani culture and history Armenia systematically destroyed cultural and historical monuments. Out of 67 mosques, 65 were desecrated and destroyed. Many mosques were turned into pigsties and cowsheds like the Juma Mosque of Agdam (1870), Zangilan Mosque (17th century) or Marmar Mosque (18th century) in Gubadli.

Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed the second war after that latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10 with the signing of a trilateral ceasefire deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

In the war unleashed by Armenia, Azerbaijan's Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Tartar, Gabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other cities and regions, fairly far from the war zone, came under Armenia's missile and artillery fire.

International human rights watchdogs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch verified the use of banned cluster bombs and missiles by Armenia in its attacks against Azerbaijani cities.

As a result, 100 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, including 12 children and 27 women. As many as 454 people were injured, including 35 children. Some 181 children lost one parent, five children lost both parents, one family died. In total, 12,292 residential and non-residential buildings and 288 vehicles were damaged.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz