Voskepar

Voskepar (Armenian: Ոսկեպար) is a village in the Noyemberyan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia, located close to the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. Voskepar derives its name from the Voskepar mountain range; from Armenian ոսկե (voske, gold), and պարան (paran: string or chain). In the 19th and 20th centuries the village was also known as Aksibara and Akhsibara. Voskepar was founded in the 6th century. The village contains the 7th-century Armenian Holy Mother of God Church. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, seven people were killed in inter-ethnic fighting in and around the village. In 1991, the second operation of Operation Ring took place in and around Voskepar. This was a military operation conducted by Soviet Internal Security Forces and OMON units, officially dubbed a "passport checking operation." The stated goal launched by the Soviet Union's internal and defense ministries was to disarm Armenian militia detachments, which were organized in "[illegally] armed formations." The operation involved the use of soldiers who accompanied a complement of military vehicles, artillery and helicopter gunships to be used to root out the self-described Armenian fedayeen.