Azerbaijan launches “Safe Return” mine action project, official says

Azerbaijan's Mine Victims Association has launched the "Safe Return: Supporting the Fight Against the Mine Threat" project aimed at contributing to mine clearance efforts in the country's liberated territories, Association Chairman Rey Kerimoghlu has stated.

He said the initiative is being implemented with joint financial support from the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations and the Karabakh Revival Fund, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

According to Kerimoghlu, nearly 1.5 million landmines and unexploded ordnance were left in Azerbaijani territories during the years they were under Armenian occupation.

"The locations of mine incidents that have occurred since 2020 are known. However, there are no coordinates for mine incidents in areas where intense fighting took place during the First Karabakh War. As a result of our previous projects, we have created a database that includes information on 1,360 mine victims. We will visit these areas and, based on information provided by the victims, determine the coordinates of the incident sites and submit them to ANAMA for the preparation of mine maps," Kerimoghlu noted.

In his view, the project will initially run for four months in the Aghdam, Aghdara and Tartar districts before being expanded to other territories liberated from occupation.

Kerimoghlu described it as the first project of its kind implemented by a non-governmental organisation in Azerbaijan.

"According to the international organisations we cooperate with, this is considered a unique initiative in global practice," he added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov