Police seize munitions in liberated Shusha
By Vugar Khalilov
Azerbaijani police have seized Armenian-left munitions in liberated Shusha city, local media reported on October 8.
As a result of the raid, the Shusha district police department along with the State Security Service and Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency identified 7,380 cartridges of various calibers, 30 grenades, and 12 grenade launcher projectiles, which were left by the Armenian military during the 44-day war near the Dashalti village in Shusha.
Moreover, 11 modernized unified hand grenade fuses, seven anti-tank missile systems, six mortar projectiles, three mines, one gun, and other munitions were found during the raid, the report added.
Preventive measures are being taken by police officers to detect weapons in the liberated areas, the Interior Ministry said.
Azerbaijan continues mine-clearance activities on its territories liberated from Armenia’s occupation.
Over 1,000 mines and unexploded ordnance were found and defused in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories from September 1 to October 2, Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency reported on October 2.
Some 5,537 hectares were cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance from November 19, 2020, to October 2, 2021.
Armenia has deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security and cooperation.
Over 160 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.
On June 12, Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of 97,000 mines in formerly-occupied Aghdam.
On July 3, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation of Fuzuli and Zangilan regions.
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 centers, 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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