In doing this, the attackers make it clear that they envision the conflict at least in part as a conflict between Muslims and Christians, a continuation of the 1,400-year jihad.
“Historic Armenian cathedral damaged in Karabakh shelling,” Deccan Herald, October 8, 2020:
Armenia said Thursday that Azerbaijani forces had shelled a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh’s city of Shusha, where AFP journalists saw the church had suffered serious damage.
There was a gaping hole in the roof of the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Rubble was strewn about the floor, pews were knocked over and the interior was covered in dust from parts of the building’s limestone walls that had been hit. A section of its metallic roof had collapsed and fallen to the ground outside.
“Enemy Azerbaijan hit the symbol of Shushi — the Cathedral of Ghazanchetsots,” Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said on Telegram, using the Armenian name for the city….