Cultural genocide in Artsakh continues: the church of Vaghuhas was vandalised

2026-02-02

Azerbaijan continues to systematically destroy Armenian heritage in Artsakh, employing it for it regional ambitions.

The policy of cultural genocide and eradication of Armenian heritage in Artsakh continues to this day. According to factual materials obtained by the Geghard Foundation, the Church of the Holy Mother of God in the village of Vaghuhas, Martakert region, has become a target of Azerbaijani vandalism. The Azerbaijanis have destroyed at least one of the khachkars in the church courtyard and ripped down the icons.

It is regrettable that international organizations and individual concerned with the “preservation of Christian values,” seem to neglect the importance of safeguarding Armenian Christian monuments that constitute an integral part of the universal Christian heritage.

For many years, Azerbaijan has presented itself on international platforms as a "multicultural" and "tolerant" state. This "image," created for the international community, serves as a means of concealing Azerbaijan's Armenophobic policies, one manifestation of which is the destruction or appropriation of cultural monuments.

The Church of the Holy Mother of God in the village of Vaghuhas, Martakert region, was consecrated on February 19, 2012 — on the 19th anniversary of the liberation of Vaghuhas.

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