Expert Warns Some of World’s Oldest Churches in Danger
A prominent member of the U.K.’s House of Lords is continuing to sound the alarm about the ongoing blockage in Nagorno-Karabakh, a small, landlocked region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, warning that the Armenian Christians living there lack food, resources and other necessities.
Baroness Caroline Cox, a longtime member of Parliament, told CBN’s Faithwire about the region’s history and why she continues to passionately advocate for those living there.
“Armenia was the first nation of the world to become Christian … back in 301 A.D.,” Cox said. “And the little land of Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Ancient Armenia, and Armenians have lived there for 1,700 years, and you get some of the oldest churches and stone crosses in the world in that little holy land.”
That history is threatened, according to Cox, who has been to the region around 90 times. She said the current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has bred a “situation of tragedy and of conflict.”
After some of the latest skirmishes in 2020, Azerbaijan is now controlling a “significant proportion of the land” and, according to Cox, has reportedly destroyed “at least three churches.”
“We can’t prove that because we can’t go there to see,” the Crossbench Life peer, who has served in Parliament since 1983, added, expressing worry over the historical stone crosses and Christian monuments.
As CBN’s Faithwire has extensively reported, the most recent chaos in the region began Dec. 12, when individuals identifying as Azerbaijani protestors reportedly blocked the Lachin corridor, the only roadway into and out of Nagorno-Karabakh, effectively halting food, medicine and essential transport.
“There’s a huge shortage of food and medicines inside … [and a] lot of suffering,” Cox said, noting Azerbaijan has also “cut off electricity supply a lot of the time.”
The lack of heat and resources created problems with warmth and even farming, making it more difficult to grow food and resources. Cox expressed dismay over the months-long blockade, claiming it’s being done “with complete impunity” and without enough counterpressure from the international community.
“That blockade of the road can … be the beginning of another genocide of people just being starved to death,” Cox said. “No one has challenged or opened up that blockade to the road and, as said, is causing enormous suffering.”
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