ANAMA: Mines killed over 70 people in Azerbaijan after 44-day war

The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) has reported hundreds of mine-related incidents and casualties since the end of the 44-day Patriotic War.

ANAMA spokesperson Ramil Azizov said 415 people had been affected by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) since the conflict, including 71 fatalities and 344 injuries of varying severity, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

Speaking at an event reviewing the “Support in Reducing Mine/UXO Incident Consequences” project, Azizov added that over 248,000 hectares of land had been cleared, with specialists discovering and neutralising 236,798 mines and explosive devices, more than 40,000 of which were anti-personnel mines.

“Anti-personnel mines frequently result in amputations of lower limbs and severe human tragedies. All incidents are recorded in the agency’s information system,” he said.

He also noted that 253 mine incidents occurred following the war and that, since 1991, more than 3,400 Azerbaijani citizens have been victims of mines and UXO.

By Aghakazim Guliyev