Azerbaijan looks to recreate 1915 genocide

 International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that November 8, 2021, Azerbaijani troops opened gunfire on a group of Armenian utility workers repairing water pipes near the city of Shushi, which was captured during the Turkish-Azeri war last year against Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh). The incident occurred on the same day that Azeri President Ilham Aliyev was in Shushi alongside Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to mark the one-year anniversary of the invasion’s ceasefire.

It occurred near the Lachin-Stepanakert Road, the only transit option connecting Karabakh’s Armenian Christian community with the outside world. The road was temporarily closed following the incident. Most of Nagorno-Karabakh’s land was lost during the war, and now residents are surrounded by Turkish-Azeri forces. This is the second citizen killed since last year’s ceasefire, with the first being murdered in front of Russian peacekeepers this past October.

“The recorded incident is another proof of the anti-Armenian, genocidal and fascist behavior of the Azerbaijani side towards the Armenian people, about which we have stated many times since the signing of the trilateral statement,” said Gegham Stepanyan, Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman.

“Today, at around 3:00 p.m., near the city of Shushi, the Azerbaijani side fired at Armenian civilians working on water pipes in the area. One civilian killed, three wounded,” said local journalist Anush Ghavalyan. “This is how Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev brings peace to the region—by killing civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh. No people, no conflict.”

Speaking about the recent escalation of Turkish-Azeri aggression towards Artsakh’s Armenian Christian residents, a Stepanakert local shared simply, “This is hell… we don’t know what will happen.”

The deceased is 22-years old. The wounded civilians are 43, 41, and 31 years old.

The incident comes just days after the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released a factsheet reiterating its recommendations for State Department CPC and SWL designations. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan were named on the factsheet as recommendations for the Special Watch List (SWL).

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “The escalation of violence toward Armenian civilians living in Nagorno-Karabakh is very alarming. These incidents give further evidence of how Azerbaijan has embraced Turkey in such a way that both countries are emboldened and empowered to commit genocidal atrocities towards Armenian Christians. They intend to intimidate those who remain living in Karabakh, suffocating them with forced isolation from the outside world. Turkey and Azerbaijan have made it clear in their rhetoric that their actions are viewed as a continuation of the 1915 genocide against Christians. The ceasefire may have been established a year ago, but the cleansing activities of the invasion continue to this very day.”

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Joga, Lakhma, Magda, and Sukka are crazy

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Christian community in India’s Chhattisgarh state was brutally attacked by a mob of radical Hindu nationalists over the weekend. The attack left nine Christians seriously injured, including three who are currently hospitalized in critical condition.

On Saturday, November 6, a mob of 50 radical Hindu nationalists attacked 14 Christian homes in Metapal village, located in the Dantewada district. Local Christians report that the mob was led by four men named Joga, Lakhma, Magda, and Sukka. The mob went from house to house, attacking Christians to make Metapal a “Christian-free” village.

Wielding fists, wooden clubs, and other objects, the extremists beat the Christians of Metapal, including women and children. The attack left nine Christians seriously injured with broken bones, dislocated joints, and head injuries.

“Santu, a teenage boy, was carried by four people to the hospital like a dead body,” Pastor Susheel Kumar, a survivor of the attack, told ICC. “He suffered multiple fractures to his legs and hand.”

Following the attack, Mogadi Madkami, Santu Madkami, and Hidma Podiyami were taken to Dantewada District Hospital where they remain in critical condition. Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR no. 22/2021) against 15 members of the mob; however, no arrests have been made to date.

“There has been intense opposition in the village against people practicing Christianity,” Pastor Kumar explained. “These Christians have been threatened a number of times in the past. Last year, three families fled the village after they were attacked by the right-wing groups. They have never returned to the village.”

“This is not an isolated incident,” another Christian leader, who requested anonymity, told ICC. “Christians across the state are facing intense pressure from the religious militant groups. Christians are not free to exercise their faith on par with Hindus. We want the government to treat us fairly and without bias.”

Across India, attacks on Christians and their places of worship are being reported in greater number and severity. Recently, a report authored by the United Christian Forum documented over 300 attacks on Christians taking place in just the first nine months of 2021. Without significant intervention by government authorities, it is likely that 2021 will be the worst year on record for Christian persecution in India.

William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia, said, “We here at International Christian Concern are very concerned by the attack on the Christian community of Metapal. Violent attempts to make communities ‘Christian-free’ must be stopped and punished if religious freedom is to mean anything in India. Unfortunately, this attack is merely a symptom of a larger problem in India. Religious intolerance and religiously motivated violence have become so normalized in India that we are hearing reports of multiple incidents every week. Strict action must be taken against the perpetrators of this attack and stern statements must be made by India’s leaders to dispel the notion that a community could or should be cleansed of a particular religious community.”

For interviews, please contact: press@persecution.org.