Many of the pictures found below are snapshots from a video that was taped from the Iranian side of the Araxes River on December 10-16, 2005. The video and photo documentation were carried out by members of the Armenian church in Iran and a group of students.

  

Azerbaijani soldiers photographed destroying tombstones at the Djulfa cemetery. Courtesy Arthur Gevorgian, December 2005.

  

Dozens of uniformed Azerbaijanis with  heavy equipment as seen from the Iranian side of the Araxes River.

 

An Azerbaijani soldier looking towards Armenian khachkars piled for destruction.

   

Dozens of uniformed Azerbaijanis as seen from the Iranian side of the Araxes River.

     

Remaining khachkar pieces being loaded onto a truck by Azerbaijani servicemen.

   

Azerbaijani soldiers photographed destroying tombstones at the Djulfa cemetery.

 

A crane extracting a large Armenian tombstone from its foundation so that it may be more easily destroyed .

     

A truck dumping pieces of destroyed khachkars into the River Araxes, which demarcates the Azerbaijani-Iranian border.

   

Azerbaijani soldiers at the Iranian border further defacing dumped khachkars, some of which still bore Armenian inscriptions and Christian symbols.

   

After a truck dumps destroyed khachkars on the the bank of the River Araxes, Azerbaijani servicemen sift through pieces of the sacred stones to insure the latter don’t bear any Armenian and Christian traces. 

   

After a truck dumps destroyed khachkars toward the River Araxes at the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, Azerbaijani servicemen are going through pieces of the sacred stones to insure the latter don’t bear any Armenian and Christian traces such as inscriptions and carved symbols.  

 

A crane removes a large khachkar (right) while Azerbaijani servicemen inspect destroyed pieces of the sacred monuments (left). 

  

Azerbaijani servicemen destroying those Armenian khachkars that survived being dumped into the River Araxes. 

Additional snapshots from the destruction are available at Armenica.org.

 

An Armenian priest in Iran praying that God may forgive Azerbaijani servicemen, seen in the background across the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, as they destroy the sacred tombstones of the largest medieval Armenian cemetery in the world.