On October 8, a double-tap strike hit the historical Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in the town of Shushi in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The first strike caused serious material damage to the cathedral, which was restored after the Azerbaijani-Armenian war in the 1990s. When a group of civilians and journalists gathered at the cathedral to check the damage, the second strike occurred.
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
BREAKING: We just got back from the church in #Shushi 20 kilometer from #Stepanakert. The church got hit some hours ago, terrible destruction inside. Thank god, the kids plus parents who were in the basement hiding didnt got injured. #KarabakhWar @BILD pic.twitter.com/SalupTprqP
— Paul Ronzheimer (@ronzheimer) October 8, 2020
A year ago, the restored Upper Mosque was opened in #Shushi (1&2).
Today, #Azerbaijan shelled & damaged the Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral in Shushi (3&4).#Artsakh takes care of #Islamic spiritual sites, Azerbaijan destroys #Christian ones.#StopAzerbaijaniAggression pic.twitter.com/gzbzTFF1XM
— Tigran Avinyan ?? (@AvinyanTigran) October 8, 2020
Ghazanchetsots Cathedral (Holy Savior Cathedral) in #Artsakh #Karabakh city of #Shushi was targeted by #Azerbaijan today #RecognizeArtsakh pic.twitter.com/4OqyZpIqLh
— MFA of Artsakh (@mfankr) October 8, 2020
Video after the second strike on the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral that wounded 10, including 3 journalists. You can see the hole in the roof is much larger than after the first strike. 786/https://t.co/PRVnOGpftD pic.twitter.com/WSrEsOFdC9
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 8, 2020
According to RT’s reporter Murad Gazdiev, ten people, including three journalists, were injured as a result of the second strike on the cathedral.
One of the injured journalists was Yuriy Kotenok, editor-in-chief of the Russian “Segodnya.ru” He sustained a serious injury and is now undergoing surgery in Stepanakert.
Yuriy Kotenok, editor-in-chief of the Russian https://t.co/hMsqAc5HS0 who was injured during the Cathedral’s bombing is undergoing surgery in Stepanakert
Сейчас оперируют главного редактора «Сегодня․ру» Юрия Котёнока, пострадавшего от бомбардировки со стороны Азербайджана pic.twitter.com/6Zq1PKqOUF— Armenian Unified Infocenter (@ArmenianUnified) October 8, 2020
Azerbaijani forces, which have been attacking Nagorno-Karabakh since September 27, were held responsible for the double-tap strike. However, the remains of one of the projectiles used in the attack indicate that the Turkish Air Force may be behind it, according to the Abkhazian Network News Agency.
At least two Turkish F-16s fighter jets are deployed in Azerbaijan. The projectile used in the strikes on Ghazanchetsots Cathedral appears to be “NATO-made.”
ANNA NEWS reports the ID of the bomb used on the cathedral in Shushi is NATO-made. Working on verfying if it was Turkish F-16s pic.twitter.com/nmGAJV6THj
— 301?? (@301_AD) October 8, 2020
This was not the first attack by Azerbaijani forces on civilian targets in Nagorno-Karabakh. A new infographic by the Armenian Unified Infoceter revealed that Azerbaijani attacks on the region have so far claimed the lives of 22 civilians and injured 95 others.
The civilian casualties caused by #AzerbaijaniAggression pic.twitter.com/brnXAYMUB7
— Armenian Unified Infocenter (@ArmenianUnified) October 8, 2020
Azerbaijani forces intensified their shelling on civilian settlements in Nagorno-Karabakh over the last few days. This is escalating the situation in the region.
Journalists should apply for accreditation before going into war zone.
clearly staged…armenians do it themselves and blame it on others
Goodbye idiot.
goodbye moron
Armenistan monkey lose, stage false flag attack.
nah, Artzakh would not destroy itself such an important symbol of their own State.
barbarians—azeris taking lessons from amerikan teachers
If the armenians hit a mosque. see what screams and cries were here…
Armenistan become Muslim. problem solved.
My thoughts as well. Its a warcrime that is typical of a NATO bombing.
Turkey certainly has a troll army going ! On a different war front from of all places, Germany. You may remember a couple of months back; Germany – The COVID – 19 Extra – Parliamentary Inquiry Committee – YouTube That link has been silenced by Google, but the committee has born fruit, the German doctors have been backed by lawyers, and they are suing governments and individuals. Crimes against Humanity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr04gHbP5MQ&app=desktop
Thanks for the link. Lets hope that Truth Will Out and the guilty are dealt with harshly.
The testing scam is expected to cost the same amount of cash as annual the budget of the UK National Health Service.
Cechas , love , no one needs to take a lesson from someone while you animals are around.
You attacked a primary school full of kids with attack helicopters and tanks in Beslan massacre. You used FOAB on civilians at Grozhny.
Need more ?
If Azeri’s cannot take Artzakh I suppose they will destroy it slowly with artillery. Artzakh becomes like Northern France in WW1; a military front line zone with no civilians. A small victory for Armenia as it is still a buffer zone for Armenia State. Bad outcome for Artzakh people though.