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First stage of demining Fuzuli-Jabrayil road ends

1 September 2021 13:57 (UTC+04:00)
First stage of demining Fuzuli-Jabrayil road ends

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has fully completed the first stage of demining the Fuzuli-Jabrayil road, Mine Action Agency Supervisor of Azerbaijan Natig Asadov has said.

"We are now in Garghabazari village in Fuzuli region. Here we are clearing from mines the road from Fuzuli to Jabrayil region. The road's first 3.4 km-section has already been cleared. The corresponding work is already underway there," he said.

Asadov noted that the length of the second section of the road is 4.5 km.

"Some 289,000 square meters out of 316,000 square meters have been cleared, 174 pieces of unexploded ordnance were found. The length of the road's third section is also 4.5 kilometers," the supervisor added.

He stressed that the relevant work will end within a week.

Meanwhile, over 20 journalists from the Turkic Council member and observer states (Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina), who have been visiting since August 31 the Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in 2020, are expected to meet Mine Action Agency representatives in Fuzuli. They will observe the demining process, visit the Alkhanli mosque and see the scale of destructions in Jabrayil. The journalists will visit the destroyed Muslim historical and religious monuments, cemeteries.

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.

The scale of destruction in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories suggests deep hatred and animosity against Azerbaijanis, with many experts describing these mass destructions as genocide.

Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed the second war after that latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10 with the signing of a trilateral peace deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres and historic Shusha city. 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 the early 1990s.

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