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Azerbaijani forces have dug bunkers into a historic Armenian cemetery in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), satellite images shared by the Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) show.

The cemetery is located in the early Christian Armenian settlement of Gyavurkala in the Martakert village of Haykajur, the Artsakh Monument Watch reported.

The bunkers appeared between October 2022 and May 2023, CHW said.

Gyavurkala is the second-largest early Christian Armenian settlement in the Artsakh steppe after Tigranakert. It spans approximately two hectares and features a circular earthen wall. The settlement includes a fifth- to sixth-century church constructed with cut stones and adorned with cross designs. The pillar of the monument remains intact. In the 1950s, one of the earliest Armenian inscriptions of the Artsakh steppe was discovered in the area where bunkers have now been constructed.

Article 4.1 of the Hague Convention calls on parties to refrain “from any use of the [cultural] property and its immediate surroundings…which are likely to expose it to destruction or damage in the event of armed conflict.” Therefore, locating bunkers near heritage sites is a violation.