Armenia: Karabakh will never target Azerbaijan's cultural monuments

PanARMENIAN.Net - His comments came hours after Azerbaijan twice hit the iconic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, Karabakh, as a result of which at least two Russian journalists were injured, one of them severely.

Hovhannisyan told a briefing Thursday, October 8 that the Armenian side has never targeted cultural centers and will never do that.

The military official reminded that the Azerbaijani army fired as many as 1000 Grad shells on Karabakh's capital Stepanakert during the war in the 1990s, which they were storing in the same Cathedral they bombed on Thursday.

"We have been living here for centuries, we know the way they think and the way they do things," Hovhannisyan said.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey, launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.

Donations can be made to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, which has launched a fundraising campaign to support Karabakh amid Azerbaijan's aggression.