BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
Armenia, trying to falsify history, made serious changes to the interior of the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha under the guise of repair and restoration work, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture.
According to the ministry, the fact is confirmed by the photos of the mosque spread on Internet resources.
The mosque, located in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, Nagorno Karabakh region occupied by Armenia, was built through the instruction of Ibrahim Khalil Khan's daughter Govhar Agha in 1883-1884 by the architect Safikhan Garabaghi.
During the reign of Panah Ali Khan, there was a mosque built of reeds. In 1769, it was rebuilt from stone by Ibrahim Khalil Khan. Later, on the place of this rebuilt mosque, the current Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque was built.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.