01/14/2021 Armenia (International Christian Concern) – The president of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), a Christian human rights organization, has warned that the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia represents a genocide against Armenian Christians. CSI President Dr. John Eibner called the six-week war this past fall “an ongoing process of genocide” rooted in the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century.

 

According to CSI, the Azerbaijani military is being aided by both the Turkish military and former ISIS fighters from Syria who are working as mercenaries against Armenia. International Christian Concern has also documented these reports of ISIS fighters being utilized by Turkey in the conflict, only adding to the anti-Armenian Christian sentiment of the violence. These fighters are not only targeting Armenian military personnel, but also civilians living in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh) region.

 

Although the conflict has captured the world’s attention in recent months, the religious underpinnings of the violence have largely been underreported. Armenia is the oldest Christian nation in the world, and its current population is more than 90 percent Armenian Apostolic Christians. On the other side, Turkey and Azerbaijan, the two aggressors against Armenia, are both over 95 percent Muslim.

 

The Turkish government has repeatedly perpetuated an attitude of conquest towards Christianity. One example last year was the conversion of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from a museum into a mosque, a move that was praised at its first Islamic service as a “sign of conquest.” Turkish media has been using similar rhetoric to describe the conflict with Armenia, only providing more evidence of genocidal behavior against Armenian Christians.

https://www.persecution.org/2021/01/14/human-rights-organization-labels-artsakh-conflict-genocide-armenian-christians/