According to the Armenian Ministry of Defense, the Azerbaijani forces bombed the cathedral after launching several missiles towards the Karabakh region.
“What is the use of dialogue with those who bomb churches?” The official representative of the ministry, Artsron Hanfanisian, posted on Facebook, accompanied by pictures showing the damage caused by what appeared to be a missile falling on the dome of the cathedral.
Azerbaijan shelled Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, the symbol of Shushi, which had been restored and reconsecrated in the aftermath of the war in the 90s#StopAzerbaijaniAggression pic.twitter.com/QYZa7KfMGg
— Armenian Unified Infocenter (@ArmenianUnified) October 8, 2020
The cathedral, which was built in the mid-nineteenth century, is considered one of the spiritual centers not only for Armenians from Karabakh, but for all Armenian people.
For its part, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied responsibility for the incident, asserting in a statement that “the information about the damage caused to the Church” has nothing to do with the hostilities carried out by the Azerbaijani army.
The statement said, “Unlike the Armenian forces, which destroyed in the bombing of the city of Ganja on 4 October civilian facilities and residential buildings, as well as the Imamzadeh complex, which is a religious architectural landmark, the Azerbaijani army does not target historical, cultural and especially religious buildings and monuments.”
Karabakh has witnessed since late last month a military escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the most violent in a quarter of a century.
