Official: OIC countries' reporters spot Armenian vandalism in Aghdam, Shusha
By Sabina Mammadli
Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that journalists from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries have spotted Armenian vandalism in liberated Aghdam and Shusha.
He made the remarks on his official Twitter page on March 16.
"Pleased to meet with the group of journalists from Organization of Islamic Cooperation member countries. They have visited liberated Aghdam and Shusha cities and witnessed vandalism and plundering perpetrated against more than 60 mosques and other cultural and religious monuments," he tweeted.
Armenia's aggression and illegal occupation caused irreparable damages to Azerbaijan's cultural heritage, which includes thousands of cultural values, including monuments of the world and national importance, mosques, temples, mausoleums, museums, art galleries, sites of archaeological excavations, libraries and rare manuscripts.
At the same time, Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security and cooperation.
A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 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.
The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.
Currently, the work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.
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