Azernews.Az

The Canadian news portal https://www.thej.ca drew attention to the landmine problem in Azerbaijan as a result of the aggressive policy of Armenia.

According to Azernews, it was published in the article that during the military occupation of Armenia, which covered the years 1991-2020, the massively buried mines in Azerbaijan still remain a serious source of danger to civilians. An example of this was given when on April 28, 2023, as a result of another mine explosion 3 young men who worked in the field of mine clearance in the Tartar district of Azerbaijan, were killed.

After the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020, in which the 44-day Patriotic War, which took place in the fall of 2020, ended the occupation of Armenia, and according to current data, 147,988 hectares (ha) are confirmed as highly polluted areas, while 675,570 ha are considered medium and low threat areas. As a result of 168 surface explosions in Azerbaijan, 288 people died, and during the 30-year period of occupation, this number included 3,367 people. These facts were also brought to the attention in the article.

It was emphasized that, despite this problem, Azerbaijan consistently supports the goal of the Ottawa Convention and contributes to its implementation. However, it was stated that Azerbaijan considers the fact that the responsibility of the country that placed mines on the territory of other states to be a serious shortcoming not clarified in the convention: “Azerbaijan believes that taking into account this responsibility is important from the point of view of prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines and preventing aggression. "Armenia’s continued destructive policy and posture runs against the Ottawa Convention’s philosophy and objectives and undermines regional security ."

The article can be read at the following link

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz