U.S. State Department: Armenians destroyed Azerbaijani cemeteries in Karabakh
By Sabina Mammadli
Dozens of Azerbaijani cemeteries have been destroyed in Fuzuli, Aghdam, Zangilan, Kalbajar and Jabrayil regions by Armenian separatists, while the Armenian ones remained untouched, the U.S. State Department has stated.
The report was published in the U.S. State Department's annual report "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Armenia".
The facts of the destroyed Azerbaijani cemeteries areconfirmed by thousands of photographs taken by foreign photojournalists, the document stressed.
It noted that the Azerbaijani graves were desecrated by Armenian separatists. In some cases, evidence of looting these graves was found, including traces of their destruction by construction equipment.
"Foreign observers visiting Aghdam photographed empty graves excavated at the cemetery. The pictures show a broken tombstone, some mutilated portraits on other tombstones, gravestones broken with hammers or other similar objects," the report stated.
The document added that the graves were dug up in search of gold teeth, and the remains were scattered throughout the cemeteries.
Along with this, the report emphasized that Armenian cemeteries remained untouched.
During Armenia's three-decade occupation, 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 the 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.
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