Deliberate wildfires in Artsakh aimed at erasing Armenian heritage, ombudsman warns

For over 10 days, wildfires have been raging across Azerbaijani-occupied Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), with no effective firefighting efforts in place. According to Artsakh's Cultural Heritage Ombudsman Hovik Avanesov, the fires have been deliberately ignited and intentionally left uncontrolled by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Speaking to Panorama.am on Friday, Avanesov claimed the wildfires are being used as a tool to destroy evidence of systematic vandalism against Armenian cultural and historical sites, clear land for unauthorized development and erase all traces of Armenian heritage under the guise of natural disaster.

“One of the most insidious methods of committing cultural genocide is to disguise it as a natural calamity,” Avanesov said, adding that more than 100 significant historical and cultural monuments are near the fire zones.

He also pointed to Azerbaijan’s so-called “restoration” programs targeting Armenian churches, claiming they are used to erase Armenian traces from them. Fires help justify these efforts by creating the illusion that the sites were damaged and need reconstruction.

Avanesov recalled similar tactics during the 2020 war, when Azerbaijan used banned white phosphorus munitions to set fire to Artsakh’s forests. He emphasized that the wildfires also pose a major ecological threat to the region.

Since 2020, at least 800 cases of vandalism have been documented in occupied Artsakh, though the actual number may be higher. Avanesov stressed the urgency of international legal action against Azerbaijan’s leadership for cultural genocide and war crimes.