Pope appeals for the protection of monasteries and places of worship  in Nagorno-Karabakh 

ArmInfo. Speaking after Sunday's Angelus, Pope Francis recalls the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the  serious humanitarian conditions affecting the displaced. He also appeals for the protection of the monasteries and places of worship, expressions of faith and signs of fraternity.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis  renewed his concern about the grave humanitarian crisis in  Nagorno-Karabakh affecting displaced people in the South Caucasus  region.

According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, more than 100,000 refugees  have fled to Armenia since 23 September. The UN agency is working to  deliver life-saving assistance and supplies, especially before the  colder weather takes hold. 

The Pope also added a special appeal for the protection of the  monasteries and places of worship in the region. He expressed his  hopes that "they can be respected and protected as part of the local  culture, expressions of faith and a sign of a fraternity that makes  it possible to live together despite differences."

Pope Francis' appeal to Azerbaijan to protect houses of worship in  Nagorno Karabakh comes as Russia has urged new peace talks. However,  Armenian Christian refugees are reluctant to return to an area they  called home for generations...

Tearful, exhausted, and with painful memories, some 120,000 Armenians  have passed through the Armenian border town of Goris, an important  seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

They fled Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving behind their historic Christian  heritage embedded in the enclave, which was overrun by forces from  Azerbaijan.

Christian aid workers share Pope Francis's concerns that ancient  monasteries and churches may now be destroyed.

Joel Veldkamp, a spokesman for the rights group Christian Solidarity  International, is shocked. "I saw a video of a news source that I  trust of Azerbaijani troops firing on a 13th-century monastery in  Nagorno- Karabakh. That is just the beginning," he said.    

Yet, Hikmet Hajiyev, an advisor of the president of Azerbaijan,  claims Armenians have nothing to fear.  "Indeed, we do regret that  the civilian population has decided, many of them, to leave. And, of  course, in this case, we respect freedom of choice and freedom of  movement," he stressed.    

Don't tell that to Armenian journalist Siranush Sargsyan, who recalls  the horrors of Azerbaijan's recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh. "My  neighbor lost one of his sons. Another one, my history teacher died  and his son was wounded," in attacks by Azerbaijan. "And this is only  from my village. I met several mothers who lost two sons, three  sons," she said while interrupting her words as she cried.

"And some of the [survivors] they don't know, there is no  information. We lost so many people. We almost all know each other.  And this is like my family story," the journalist added.      

Sargsyan and others enjoyed relative freedom after the enclave  separatists broke away from Azerbaijan following the collapse of the  Soviet Union in the 1990s.

As Azerbaijan has recaptured the region, virtually the entire  Armenian population has left.

Broadcaster Al Jazeera's reporter Osama Bin Javaid witnessed how the  main city in Nagorno-Karabakh, Khankendi, had been all but abandoned.  "Here in the town center, you will hear nothing if I go quiet. There  is absolutely no one who is left here apart from a few elderly,  disabled, and others," he said amid chairs and other belongings that  appeared to have been left behind in a hurry.

"Some puppies have been following us around, possibly looking for  food. It is hard to describe the feeling when you enter a town when  you have looked at pictures of it where there was so much activity.  But now it is a ghost town with no soul left," the reporter  explained.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin said over the weekend that he  believed a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan was achievable  if both sides showed goodwill.

He earlier proposed holding talks between the two nations in Moscow.  But whatever the outcome of those discussions, the refugees here seem  to have no appetite to return to Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijan's  rule.