Urbicide is as much about destroying a community’s identity as it is about destroying its physical space, according to a new study examining the cities of Grozny in Chechnya, Aghdam in Azerbaijan and Aleppo in Syria.
The study, published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, found that the destruction of historically and culturally significant cities can serve as a political message, emphasising the victory of one side over another.
The authors described urbicide as the intentional destruction of urban areas, the forced displacement of populations and the loss of historically and culturally significant buildings. They said the three cities examined held symbolic value for competing sides in their respective conflicts.
Grozny was the centre of the Chechen independence movement. Aleppo is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, while Aghdam holds strategic and cultural importance for Azerbaijan in the Garabagh region.
Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Centre of Analysis of International Relations, said Azerbaijan had been forced to rebuild an area in the Garabagh region comparable in size to Lebanon.
“For those 26 years of occupation, between 1994 and 2020, those territories were completely destroyed.
“And Azerbaijan, after the liberation of those territories in 2020, the Azerbaijan side found that those territories, the whole infrastructure, completely destroyed, erased. Not only the buildings, but pipelines. You know, [the] sewage system, everything.”
The study’s authors also highlighted what they described as a new phenomenon, whereby cities are deliberately kept in an uninhabitable state after fighting has ended in order to prevent displaced residents from returning.
Shafiyev said this method had been observed in Garabagh, where cities were destroyed after the conflict had ended.
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took t...
Saudi Arabia has restored its vital East-West oil pipeline to near-full capacity, but escalating Houthi attacks on energy facilities, airports and ...
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 9 October 2026 with five key developments from the CIS summit in Turkmenistan....
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
The Saudi-led coalition says it has carried out a series of military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen after attacks on two Saudi airports left three people dead and dozens injured.
Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states have signed two key documents at the 8th Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in Turkmenbashi, formalising a broader framework for regional cooperation in transport, trade, energy, digitalisation and security.
It started with classrooms. Too many students, not enough teachers, deteriorating buildings and growing anxiety over what comes after high school. But within weeks, a movement that began outside French lycées had spread across the country.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
Saudi Arabia has restored its vital East-West oil pipeline to near-full capacity, but escalating Houthi attacks on energy facilities, airports and transport infrastructure are raising fresh concerns over the security of its oil exports.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 9 October 2026 with five key developments from the CIS summit in Turkmenistan.
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said on Friday that three Saudi nationals were killed and several people were injured in two attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday (8 October).
Several powerful explosions reported in the south of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday may have been triggered by oil tankers hitting naval mines, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has reported, citing unnamed military sources.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment