Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Experts from the Azerbaijani and Russian Emergencies Ministries have started joint training courses on de-mining and cleaning liberated Aghdam region from unexploded ordnance, local news sources reported on January 5.

Equipments to be used to demine the liberated areas have also been demonstrated in an event organized in the regional centre of the Azerbaijani Emergencies Ministry in Aghdam's Guzanli settlement.

The region was liberated from Armenia's 30-year-old occupation as a result of Azerbaijan’s 44-day war from late September to early November 2020.

After 45-day courses, the demining and cleaning operations will initially begin on 100 hectares of the liberated territories of Aghdam region. It’s planned to complete the work within about three months.

On January 4, the Russian Emergencies Ministry's IL-76 aircraft with rescuers on board flew to Azerbaijan to demine the liberated territories in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian Emergencies Ministry reported that as part of their humanitarian mission, a group of 20 sappers will work in the region. The Russian ministry will deliver 3 pieces of robotic equipment.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Deputy Emergencies Minister Rahim Latifov said that staff of the Russian Emergencies Ministry will initially start demining and disposing the unexploded ordnance on 100 hectares of land in Aghdam. He added that Russian experts will be accomodated on the territory of the Azerbaijani Emergencies Ministry's Karabakh regional centre located in Aghdam's Guzanli village.

“The group consists of 20 personnel - these are pyrotechnics, sappers, dog handlers, instructors for training personnel. The detachment of the composite group has all the necessary equipment,” the deputy minister told reporters.

To recap, the joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre will operate in Aghdam to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement of November 10, 2020.

On November 10, 2020, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal to put an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since early 1990s.

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