Azerbaijan Claims To Successfully Destroy More Than 48 Thousand Armenian Mines And Armaments

Illustration of a minefield. (Wikimedia Commons/Apcbg)

JAKARTA - Azerbaijani authorities announced that they have destroyed more than 48,000 mines and unexploded ordnance, which were laid by the Armenian army in areas liberated from occupation.

The Mine Action Agency of Azerbaijan (ANAMA) and the technical units of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces, with the support of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Border Services Command, and the Special Mine Clearing team of the Turkish Armed Forces, continue to clear mines in the Karabakh region and surrounding provinces.

Since 10 November 2020, a total of 18.302 hectares of land have been cleared by mine experts. A total of 22.230 unexploded ordnance, 17.426 antipersonnel mines, and 8.755 anti-tank mines had been detected and destroyed as of 15 October 2021.

ANAMA chairman Vugar Suleymanov said, with the mine clearance process still ongoing, roads, railroads, and facilities or residential areas are priorities in the mine clearance effort.

"We exchange experiences with Turkish organizations and will expand cooperation with Turkey in the field of mines," Suleymanov quoted Anadolu Agency's Yenisafak as saying, October 22.

Landmines are a grave violation of important norms and principles of international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

A total of 33 Azerbaijanis, including seven soldiers and 26 civilians, were killed and 139 injured by mines laid by Armenia during the occupation.

To note, relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia began to strain in 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent territories.

When new clashes erupted on 27 September 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks against Azerbaijani civilians and troops and violated several humanitarian ceasefire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from nearly three decades of occupation.

On November 10 last year, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive resolution.

On January 11, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic and infrastructure relations that benefit the entire region. This included the formation of a trilateral working group in Karabakh.