Azerbaijan briefs US delegation on mine threat

Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) has briefed a delegation led by a member of the US House of Representatives, Abraham Hamadeh.

Chairman of the Board Vugar Suleymanov informed the delegation in detail on the agency’s areas of activity and large-scale demining operations in the country, Caliber.Az reports, citing the ANAMA.

The talks also included an exchange of views on prospects for cooperation in the field of humanitarian demining.

Azerbaijan is among the countries most heavily affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance, with more than 13% of its territory contaminated.

Over the past 30 years, more than 3,400 people have fallen victim to landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Since November 2020 alone, 421 civilians-including women and children-have been affected by mine explosions. Of those, 72 were killed and 349 injured, with the toll continuing to rise.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov