OFWI FACT FINDING MISSION TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Rev. El Shafie prays at the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral. The church was bombed by Azerbaijani forces.

Targeting civilians. Bombed churches. Violating ceasefire agreements. These are just some of the reports coming from Nagorno-Karabakh as the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan turned violent in recent weeks.

OFWI has led a fact-finding mission to the region, joined by Icelandic MP Birgir Thorarinsson, to witness firsthand the effects of war, assess the damage, and investigate the reports of human rights abuses.

Early findings:

Civilians are being deliberately targeted by Azerbaijani forces.
Attacks on hospitals and churches are war crimes.
International intervention needed to protect human life.
Azerbaijan’s violent attempt to control the territory with Turkey’s backing by targeting civilians is eerily similar to the ethnic cleansing of 20th century Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.
International support to rebuild and restore community services will be crucial to support civilians in the months ahead.

President Erdogan has put the force of Turkey’s armed forces behind Azerbaijan and they continue jointly large-scale aerial, missile, and land attacks along the entire line of contact between Artsakh (Nagorno Kharabakh) and Azerbaijan, aiming to resolve the Nagorno-Kharabakh conflict by military means.

OFWI calls on both sides to immediately cease military violence and to return to the negotiating table to come to a peaceful resolution to this dispute.

The OFWI delegation have visited Yerevan, Armenia and Stepanakert, Artsakh (part of the disputed territory in Nagorno-Kharabakh) meeting with local leaders and injured civilians, and surveying the damage.

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