Azerbaijan destroyed memorial complex in Artsakh's Askeran

Azerbaijan has destroyed a memorial complex in the Askeran region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Hovik Avanesov, Ombudsman for Cultural Heritage of the Armenian Highlands, reports.

“Satellite images from 12 March 2025 reveal that the Mayraberd Memorial Complex (Askeran) has become the latest target of Azerbaijani vandalism. A tank monument dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War, located on the left side of the road connecting Mayraberd to Tigranakert and Akna, has also been destroyed,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

“The acts of vandalism were carried out through the use of heavy machinery. The Mayraberd memorial site included monuments commemorating the Great Patriotic War (World War II) and the Artsakh Liberation War, as well as a khachkar (cross-stone) honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the Sumgait pogroms,” the ombudsman added, sharing an archival photo of the Mayraberd Memorial Complex.