Enemy Destroys School, Cultural House, Monument in Madatashen Village and Damages St. Astvatsatsin Church

The enemy has destroyed the school, cultural house, and monument in Madatashen village and has damaged St. Astvatsatsin Church. This is reported by monumentwatch.org, which conducts ongoing monitoring of Armenia's cultural heritage.

“According to satellite images from October 10, 2021, the enemy has demolished the school in Madatashen village of the Askeran region and has reached the wall of the adjacent church, which is now in danger. The school was renamed as 'Madatashen School' in 2015, and housed the village's municipal office and cultural center as well.

Next to the church was a monument dedicated to the victims of the Artsakh Liberation War, which was also destroyed by the enemy immediately after the occupation of the village. A video disseminated by the Azerbaijani side clearly shows an armed Azerbaijani soldier vandalizing, demolishing, and destroying the monument to the heroes of the Artsakh Liberation War, breaking their photographs, and taking joyfully posed photos against the backdrop of the destroyed cultural heritage.

Furthermore, the video, recorded before the Azerbaijani occupation, confirms that both the school and the adjacent monument were intact. The history of the village of Madatashen dates back to the mid-17th century and is named after Russian army general Valerian Madatov, whose livestock farms were located in this area. The rural community is located in the southern part of the Republic of Artsakh. It is 50 km away from the Askeran regional center and 24 km from the capital city of Stepanakert. St. Astvatsatsin Church in the village was built in 1904. The wall and the roof of the church were damaged.

Madatashen's school, cultural house, and church do not fall within the direction of Azerbaijan's new road construction, and it is possible that the stones resulting from the destruction of cultural values are being used for the supporting walls of the roads,” mentions the response of monumentwatch.org on their original site.