Interior Ministry warns against unauthorized visits to Karabakh
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry has once again warned citizens against visiting without permission the territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war in 2020.
The ministry press service reported that despite repeated warnings, there are still cases when people try to enter these territories without permission, bypassing checkpoints.
Given the presence of threats, citizens should not visit these areas until the occupied territories are completely cleared of mines and other explosives, the report added.
It should be noted that in its latest report Azerbaijan's Mine Action Agency said that over 100 mines and unexploded ordnance were found on the country's liberated territories from May 10 to 16.
Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in the 44-war in autumn 2020 are currently being demined at a high pace. The Mine Action Agency experts demine the territories intended for building roads and infrastructure facilities, and for laying cable communication lines. Later, the territories aimed for cropping will be cleared of mines.
Some 21 Azerbaijani citizens, including 14 civilians were killed and 87 citizens, 16 civilians were injured in mine explosions in liberated lands since the signing of the Karabakh peace deal on November 10, 2020.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev earlier described Armenia’s failure to provide the mine maps as the main difficulty for Azerbaijani IPDs to return to their homes. He said that this is yet another war crime by Armenia as several servicemen and civilians were killed in mine blasts on the liberated territories after the war.
--
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz