Historic Azerbaijan Graveyard Destroyed

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 21 (UPI) — Officials said a medieval cemetery
with a collection of several thousand carved stone crosses on
Azerbaijan`s southern border has been destroyed.

The destruction of the Jugha cemetery is believed to he related to the
conflict between Azerbaijan and its western neighbor, Armenia, The
Times of London reports.

The Times quoted the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in London
as saying there is only a dry patch of earth where once stood between
2,700 and 10,000 intricately carved headstones dating from the 9th to
the 16th centuries. The act is being likened to the Taliban`s
destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in 2001, the
newspaper said.

The institute`s report is the first independent confirmation of what
Armenia has long alleged — that Azerbaijani authorities have razed
the cemetery since the two former Soviet republics began a border war
in 1988. The war ended in a cease-fire in 1994 but continues to
simmer.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly dismissed Armenia`s allegations and accused
Armenia of destroying hundreds of Muslim sites, the report said.

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