About 170 mines, munitions defused in liberated lands
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijan's Mine Action Agency has seized and defused 166 mines and unexploded ordnance on the territories liberated from the Armenian occupation in 2020.
In a report on demining operations carried out in the liberated lands from August 16 to 21, the agency said that 110 anti-personnel and two anti-tank mines, as well as 54 unexploded munitions, were found and neutralized on the liberated territories.
Some 147 hectares of land were cleared of mines and unexploded munitions within a week.
Over 140 Azerbaijanis have been killed or injured in the explosion of mines planted by Armenians in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied regions since the end of the war in autumn 2020 that saw Azerbaijan liberate most of its territories in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan has warned its citizens against traveling to formerly occupied territories without permission, citing land mine threats.
On June 12, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan mine maps for Aghdam, and on July 3 mine maps for Fuzuli and Zangilan. The mine maps show that Armenian planted 97,000 mines in Aghdam and 92,000 mines in Fuzuli and Zangilan.
In his interview to CNN Turk channel on August 14, President Ilham Aliyev said that the accuracy of the maps provided by Armenia at the latest stage is only 25 percent.
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