Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

An Azerbaijani civilian has been wounded in a mine blast in Tartar region, the Prosecutor-General's Office reported on February 23.

The Prosecutor-General's office said, quoting a report from the Tartar region prosecutor's office that on February 22 at about 17:00 (GMT+4) Niyamaddin Verdiyev, 45, was severely wounded in the explosion of a mine in the region's liberated territory.

An investigation into the case revealed that Verdiyev grazed cattle in that area and lost his right leg below the knee during the blast. The fact is being investigated in the Tartar region prosecutor's office.

Earlier, Baxtiyar Mahmudov, a former IDP from Azerbaijan’s Lachin district who until now lived in Tartar’s Seydimli village, was wounded in the mine blast in Tartar's Sugovushan settlement.

Azerbaijan's Prosecutor-General's Office said on February 9 that 14 citizens - of them nine civilians - died in mine explosions in the newly-liberated territories since the signing of the Karabakh peace deal on November 10. The number of injured in these incidents is 52 so far.

Meanwhile, Day.az quoted the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry as saying on February 19 that sometimes civilians seek to visit the liberated territories bypassing checkpoints.

Earlier, the government agencies warned the citizens against visiting these lands due to the frequency of mine explosions.

President Ilham Aliyev on 4 February also warned citizens against visiting the newly-liberated lands. He said that mine clearance was the first stage in the process to return Azerbaijani IDPs to their homes, adding that the process will take some time.

Azerbaijan liberated around 300 villages, city centres, settlements and historic Shusha city in the war with Armenia that lasted from September 27 and November 10. Other Armenian-occupied districts - Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin - returned to Azerbaijan's control after the singing of the Russian-brokered Karabakh peace deal on November 10.

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