Mosque turned into pigsty under Armenia's occupation

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - A senior Azerbaijani official on Friday shared footage of an 18th century mosque desecrated under Armenian occupation.

The Gubadli region, where the mosque is located, was liberated by the Azerbaijani army on Oct. 30.

"XVIII Century Mosque in liberated Mamar village of Azerbaijan. Mosque was completely destroyed. Along with vandalism XVIII Century religious/cultural monument as sign of insult was transformed into pigsty by Armenia during occupation of Mamar village of Gubadly region," said Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the Azerbaijani president, on Twitter.

Hajiyev called on UNESCO, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take action against Armenia and "seriously condemn these barbaric acts".

Earlier, a video shot by a mobile phone showed another historical mosque in Zangilan area, also under Armenian occupation until recently, converted into a pigsty. The area was liberated by the Azerbaijani army on Oct. 20.

- Upper Karabakh conflict

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and since then Armenia has repeatedly attacked Azerbaijani civilians and forces, even violating three humanitarian cease-fires.

At least 92 civilians including 11 children have lost their lives, according to Azerbaijan's Chief Prosecutor's Office. More than 400 people have been wounded; among them dozens are children.

Several thousand houses and residential buildings have been raised to the ground in these attacks.

While world powers have called for a sustainable cease-fire, Turkey has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.

Multiple UN resolutions also call for the withdrawal of the occupying forces.