ANAMA warns of mine threat in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories during Kenya visit PHOTO

A delegation from the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), led by Deputy Chairman Samir Poladov, has paid a working visit to Kenya to strengthen cooperation on humanitarian demining and peace support initiatives.

Poladov met with Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Kenya, Sultan Hajiyev, and senior officials at the International Peace Support Training Centre, Caliber.Az reports, citing ANAMA.

During the meeting, he briefed the Kenyan side on the scale of the mine threat in Azerbaijan’s territories liberated from occupation, outlining its humanitarian and economic consequences as well as the extensive clearance operations being carried out, largely through national resources.

Both sides highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation, sharing expertise, and developing joint training programmes. They also discussed the use of innovative technologies and modern methods in demining efforts.

The Azerbaijani delegation later visited the Peace Support School, where members familiarised themselves with the technological equipment, military training facilities and mine clearance testing grounds used in Kenya’s demining and peacekeeping operations.

Since the end of the 2020 Second Karabakh War, landmines left by Armenian forces have caused 399 casualties in Azerbaijan, bringing the total number of mine-related deaths and injuries in the country since the 1990s to more than 3,400.

To date, ANAMA has cleared around 140,000 hectares across Azerbaijan, but significant areas remain contaminated.

By Aghakazim Guliyev