An Armenian cemetery in the village of Mets Tagher in Artsakh’s Hadrut district has been destroyed by Azerbaijanis, who have had control of the area since the November 9 agreement.
A group called Caucasus Heritage Watch, which monitors and documents endangered and damaged cultural heritage using satellite imagery, reported in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
ALERT: An Armenian cemetery in the village of Mets Tagher/Böyük Tağlar was recently destroyed. The cemetery was founded in the early 19th c. and was in use when Armenians evacuated the village in 2020. Satellite imagery shows its complete destruction. Signs of bulldozer scars.1/3 pic.twitter.com/Dc55fkjFqT
— CaucasusHeritageWatch (@CaucasusHW) May 4, 2021
CHW, which is comprised of researchers at Cornell and Purdue Universities, said the Armenian cemetery in Mets Tagher was founded in the early 19th century and was in use when Armenians evacuated the village in 2020. Satellite imagery shows its complete destruction. Signs of bulldozer scars can be seen.
In the same village, CHW warned, the Surb Amenaprkitch (Holy Savior) church, founded 1846, appears to be threatened by construction. As of April the area just east of the church was bulldozed, and trucks were parked in the clearing.
This is the latest in a string of reports detailing Azerbaijan’s systematic destruction, demolition or desecration of Armenian churches and monuments.
Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender reported Monday that the Ghazanchetstots Cathedral in Shushi was being dismantled, with all traces of its Armenian characteristics having been erased, including the dome of the iconic church.
