Armenia deliberately planted landmines to hit Azerbaijani civilians, ANAMA says At wide-ranging talks on mine victims protection

Deputy Head of the Department for Education, International and Public Relations of the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) Farhad Isayev has said that Armenian mine terror is primarily directed against civilians.

He made the remarks at a roundtable discussion on "Protection of Persons with Disabilities and Mine Victims in Azerbaijan", Report informs.

According to him, 3,416 people have blown themselves up on mines planted by Armenia over the past 32 years.

"From 2020 to now, 337 people have been blown up on mines, 65 of them, including 50 civilians, have been killed. A total of 197 cases of mine detonations have been recorded, 56 of which occurred on the former line of contact and 141 away from the line of contact, indicating that Armenian mine terror is primarily targeting civilians," said the ANAMA spokesperson.

He added that 147,988 hectares of Azerbaijan's liberated territories are heavily contaminated with mines, while 675,570 hectares are moderately contaminated, according to the latest data.

"Armenians have also planted booby traps and various explosive devices in our territories. We found mines produced in Armenia in 2021. They were brought and installed on our lands by members of illegal Armenian armed formations. Even rivers and wells are contaminated with mines, which in turn negatively affects the development of agriculture," he said.

Isayev underscored that in 2024, 65,000 hectares of the liberated territories will be fully demined.

According to the ANAMA official, 113,698 hectares of territories have been demined over the past 3 years, 30,763 anti-personnel, 18,546 anti-tank mines, 60,623 unexploded ordnance have been identified.

"As many as 2,075 operatives, 63 demining vehicles and 151 demining dogs have been involved in the demining work. Next year, according to the plan, 60,000-65,000 hectares of territories will be demined," Isayev said.

He also added that the state pays special attention to combating the mine threat.

"However, international support is needed to speed up the demining process and ensure the return of people to their native lands," Isayev said, adding that special armoured excavators and other equipment are also involved in demining operations in Azerbaijan.

"In addition, Azerbaijani-made machinery - mine clearance vehicles Revival-B and Revival-T are also involved in the demining process. At the same time, specially trained dogs-sappers and rats are also used in the demining process," he added.

Continuing the meeting, Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) Sabina Aliyeva has stated that Armenia still refuses to hand over accurate maps of minefields to Azerbaijan despite numerous victims of mine explosions, including among civilians.

The ombudsperson recalled that Armenia laid a large number of mines in Garabagh and East Zangezur regions during almost 30 years of occupation and in the subsequent period.

However, officials of this country to this day refuse to hand over accurate maps of minefields to Azerbaijan, Aliyeva said.

"According to statistical data, in the period after the Patriotic War, 65 people were killed and 272 people were injured as a result of mine explosions. In total, 3,416 people have suffered from mine explosions since 1991, of whom 357 were children," she said.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Office in Azerbaijan Dragana Kozic expressed readiness to support Azerbaijan in resolving the mine problem.

The ICRC representative noted the importance of assisting mine blast victims.

"The Committee in turn is ready to support the Ombudsman's Office. Our goal is to discuss the existing gaps and eliminate them," said Kozic.

At the same time, Konul Hajiyeva, humanitarian defence officer of the ICRC office in Azerbaijan, has said that the Barda office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that 85 mine incidents have occurred between 2020 and 2023, resulting in 49 deaths and 79 injuries.

According to her, 26 drivers were injured as a result of mine incidents, besides, people engaged in animal husbandry are mainly blown up by mines.