Islamists destroy Armenian church in Sudan 

ArmInfo. Radical Islamists attacked an ancient Armenian church in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, looting and destroying it from the inside. This was  reported by the well- known blogger Alexander Lapshin, citing the  Armenian journalist Vadim Harutyun.

Lapshin drew attention to the fact that the church was built in the  early 20th century, and its restoration after such destruction would  be virtually impossible. According to him, the small Armenian  community in Sudan will not be able to afford such expenses, and it  is also under threat of extinction.

In this vein, the blogger recalled that about 1,000 Armenians once  lived in Sudan, and an Armenian school and other community  institutions functioned in Khartoum. However, in recent years,  according to him, the number of Armenians has decreased to about 20  people, mostly elderly people. "There are fewer and fewer Armenians  left there. The Armenian history of Sudan is coming to a sad end,"  noted Alexander Lapshin.

In connection with the incident, Lapshin also recalled the widespread  destruction of the cultural and historical heritage of Artsakh by  Azerbaijanis, comparing their actions to Islamists. He expressed  outrage that in Artsakh, the regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham  Aliyev is destroying Christian churches and desecrating Armenian  graves and crosses. The blogger emphasized that, despite the external  picture that creates the illusion of a civilized society in  Azerbaijan, the real situation indicates the opposite.

"And all because they do not accept any other faith than the  perverted form of their Islam. This is not about Islam as such, but  about the interpretation of it that is now practiced in Azerbaijan  under the control of the Aliyev family," the blogger summarized.

Last summer, the Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) organization in its  7th report on the situation around Artsakh signaled a 75% increase in  cases of destruction of Armenian heritage in the occupied territories  of the NKR by Azerbaijan, and a 29% increase in the number of objects  classified as under threat.