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Monday December 9 2024

ANAMA reports on mines, UXOs discovered in Azerbaijan's liberated areas

8 July 2024 17:42 (UTC+04:00)
ANAMA reports on mines, UXOs discovered in Azerbaijan's liberated areas
Fatima Latifova
Fatima Latifova
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A weekly report (01.07.2024 - 07.07.2024) on operations carried out by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) in the liberated territories has been released.

28 anti-personnel mines, 107 anti-tank mines, and 830 unexploded ordnances (UXOs) were discovered in Tartar, Aghdam, Aghdara, Lachin, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojaly, Khankendi, Kalbajar, Khojavend, Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan.

An area of 1039.5 hectares was cleared of mines and UXOs.

Note that the number of mine victims since the Second Garabagh War has reached 350, and 65 of them have died. More than 70% of landmine victims are civilians. Among them are people of all age categories. The total number of landmine victims in Azerbaijan is 3,429, including 357 children and 38 women. 595 of those people lost their lives.

Despite attempts at formally requesting information about the location of those mines, Armenia repeatedly denied that it possessed the relevant information and refused to engage on the issue.

Finally, in February of this year, Armenia submitted 8 minefield maps of territories located in the liberated lands to Azerbaijan. These maps cover some of the areas along the former contact line. However, the maps covering part of the former contact line passing through Khojavand, Tartar, and Goranboy districts, as well as the areas mined by Armenian military units when they retreated in November 2020, have not been submitted yet.

Many have suspicions about these maps because previous minefield maps submitted by Armenia were inaccurate. Only 25 percent of these maps were correct. Especially submitting minefield maps of the heights where civilians do not live increases this suspicion. It is also worth noting that more than 55% of recent landmine cases have occurred outside the areas covered by the information provided.

The behaviour that Armenia displayed in relation to the landmine threat is indeed another setback to the peace-building and confidence-building measures taken during the post-conflict period in the region.

It is worth noting that while Azerbaijan's liberated territories remain contaminated with mine, the new infrastructure and green energy projects remain a risky and problematic goal. These obstacles to a legal peace are part of the challenges facing the repopulation, development, and integration of the liberated territories on the path to a full peace.

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