Azerbaijani military have been filmed vandalizing the St. Astvatsatsin Church in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) village of Karin Tak, which fell under Azerbaijan’s control in the 44-day war.
The footage, shared by a YouTube user called Karabakh Honor in March 2021, shows that the Holy Altar of the church tabernacle has been broken, the inside of the church is in a mess, while Azerbaijani soldiers are entering the sacristies, which are also in disarray, and climbing on the altar, the Artsakh Monument Watch reported.
In addition, the Azerbaijani vandals are heard saying a Muslim prayer in the Christian place of worship, thus desecrating the site, it added.
“Judging by the video, we can conclude that a large Azerbaijani military unit is stationed in the village of Karin Tak, and its soldiers desecrate the Armenian cultural heritage,” the watchdog said.
Earlier in February, Azerbaijan’s government announced plans to erase Armenian inscriptions from churches in the territory that fell under Baku’s control in the 2020 war.