In Nagorno-Karabakh, the President of Azerbaijan raised the national flag in the capital of the region

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev” He hoisted the national flag of Azerbaijan in Khankendi city (Azeri name of Stepanakert)”, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region recovered from Armenian separatists in September, the president announced in a brief press release on Sunday, October 15.

Ilham Aliyev, 61, will visit Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time since his father Heydar Aliyev took office in 2003.

The leader, dressed in khaki military fatigues and a black T-shirt, according to pictures released by his services, has so far hoisted a flag with three horizontal stripes of sky blue, red and green in other parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. Secret Journey.

Protect places of worship

On the same day, Pope Francis appealed for the protection of Nagorno-Karabakh’s religious heritage, especially its monasteries, after an attack by Azerbaijani forces in September, which led to the flight of almost the entire Armenian population.

“Beyond the humanitarian situation of the displaced people, which is serious, I would like to appeal to protect the monasteries and places of worship in the region.”Francis made the announcement after his traditional Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

“I hope they will be respected by the authorities and all its citizens, and will be preserved as part of the local culture, as an expression of faith and as a symbol of brotherhood that allows us to live together across differences.”The Sovereign Pontiff added.

Several hundred churches, monasteries and cemeteries from the 11th^e In the 19th century^e Centennial Point in the area. Uncertainty weighs on this tradition because of the recent exodus of priests from the monastery of Tadiwank, said to have been founded by the holy beard in the early days of Christianity.

Many places of worship were threatened

According to “Caucasus Heritage Watch”A project that relies on satellite images to document the Caucasus’ architectural heritage, dozens of churches, mosques and monasteries are abandoned, destroyed or threatened to be.

Azerbaijani authorities condemn the desecration or desecration of mosques and Muslim sites in areas under Armenian control.

Last September, Baku won a military victory over Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian separatists in twenty-four hours, and since then a large part of the population has been emptied. Before that, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought each other in two wars for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, one in the 1990s following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the other won by Baku in the fall of 2020.