SHUSHI (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Shushi, the historic Armenian city in Nagorno-Karabakh, which came under Azerbaijan’s control in the war in fall 2020, has been declared the “cultural capital of the Turkic world” for 2023, Caspian News reports.
The announcement was made at a ministerial meeting of the International Organization of Turkic Culture, known as TURKSOY, in the Turkish city of Bursa.
During the war, the iconic Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral in Shushi was struck twice by Azerbaijan, which resulted in the collapse of part of the roof, injuring people sheltering inside and journalist covering the hostilities.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said back then that the two attacks “suggest that the church, a civilian object with cultural significance, was an intentional target despite the absence of evidence that it was used for military purposes.” The organization collected remnants of the weapon used to strike the church, which “corroborated the use of guided munitions.”
In 1920, the Armenian half of Shushi was destroyed by Azerbaijani armed forces, which also defiled the cathedral of the Holy Savior and other significant Armenian heritage sites. Multiple reports and photos prove that now too, the Armenian cultural heritage of the city is being destroyed
