Your trusted source

World Monuments Fund (WMF) condemns the targeting of Ghazanchetsots (Holy Savior) Cathedral in the Artsakh town of Shushi in a statement on 9 October.

The church was badly damaged in the Azerbaijani missile attacks last week.

"At World Monuments Fund (WMF), we are saddened by the news that Holy Savior Cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, has suffered damage during the current conflict.

Built in the 19th century, the cathedral was restored in the 1990s and became a symbol of the region’s rebirth after the war.

World Monuments Fund considers absolutely unacceptable any willful destruction of cultural heritage. Through our work around the world, we have seen how the destruction of cultural heritage irrevocably harms both local and global communities, forever marring our ties to the past and wounding the identity of countless groups.

Therefore, we ask all parties for restraint and to abstain from targeting any and all cultural heritage sites. At WMF, we are dedicated to working with communities around the world to safeguard our shared history,” the statement reads.