Missing soldiers museum in Artsakh looted and destroyed

The Azerbaijani regime has looted and destroyed the Museum of Missing Soldiers in Stepanakert, Artsakh. The museum preserved invaluable testimonies about the Armenians whose fate remains unknown, the Artsakh Ministry of Culture reported on 30 August marked as the International Day of the Disappeared.

According to official data, 777 Armenians remain missing since the First Karabakh War. Following the 44-day war in 2020, the whereabouts of 175 servicemen and 20 civilians remain unknown. Additionally, in the aftermath of the September 2023 capture of Artsakh and the subsequent forced deportation, 42 people are still missing.

“Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the enforced disappearances and the destruction of the cultural testimonies related to this tragedy. The plunder and annihilation of the museum in Stepanakert is not only a crime against the memory of the people of Artsakh but also a grave violation of international law,” the ministry said in a statement.

“It is now evident that international organizations have failed to fulfill their mission of protecting the victims of enforced disappearances and preserving cultural heritage. Their inaction enables impunity.

We stress that the Artsakh people’s right to return to their homeland is the only effective mechanism to protect cultural heritage, to restore the memory of the missing and to safeguard our identity. We honor the memory of every missing person and reaffirm that our struggle for truth and return will continue,” it stressed.