One killed, five wounded in mine blasts in Jan-Feb
By Vugar Khalilov
One person was killed and five were wounded in mine explosions in Azerbaijan from January to February, Trend has reported.
"One person was killed and five people were injured as a result of explosions of mines and unexploded ordnance from January through February 2022," a statement from the Azerbaijani public association Campaign to Ban Landmines said.
The organization obtained the relevant data from the official structures, regional coordinators, and other sources.
It was stressed that in February alone, one civilian was killed by a cluster bomb explosion in Yevlakh and two were wounded in an anti-personnel mine explosion in Tartar.
Some 323 mines and munitions - 33 anti-personnel mines, 24 anti-tank mines, as well as 266 unexploded ordnances were found and defused in Tartar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Shusha, Gubadli, Jabrayil, and Zangilan regions from February 21 to 26, the Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) reported earlier.
It should be noted that ANAMA, along with the partner countries, carries out demining activities on the liberated territories. Moreover, the State Border Service and the Defence Ministry also demine the liberated lands.
Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan all mine maps of liberated territories as a result of talks held through the Russian Defence Ministry's mediation on December 4, 2021.
On December 12, 2021, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters that mine maps provided by Armenia so far are not fully accurate.
In an address to the 6th Eastern Partnership Summit of the European Union held in Brussels on December 15, 2021, President Ilham Aliyev said that about 200 people had been killed or injured in mine explosions to that date. In this regard, he stressed the importance of the European Union and member states providing technical and financial assistance to Azerbaijan to eliminate the mine problem.
Armenia 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.
On June 12, 2021, Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of 97,000 mines in Aghdam.
On July 3, 2021, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation of Fuzuli and Zangilan regions.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered peace agreement on November 10, 2020, to end 44 days of fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
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