Azerbaijan's ANAMA clears over 2,000 hectares from Armenian mines in liberated regions

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) has issued its weekly report detailing successful demining operations carried out from March 31 to April 6 in the recently liberated regions of Azerbaijan.

ANAMA teams detected and neutralized a total of 107 anti-personnel mines, 13 anti-tank mines, and 870 unexploded ordnances, the agency told Caliber.Az.

These operations were conducted in the districts of Tartar, Aghdara, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Khojaly, Khankendi, Khojavend, Lachin, Shusha, Fuzuli, Gubadli, Jabrayil, and Zangilan.

Over the course of the week, a total of 2,009.1 hectares of land were cleared of mines and unexploded ordnances.

Since the end of the Second Karabakh War in November 2020, Azerbaijan has faced significant challenges in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from territories regained during the conflict. The ANAMA has been at the forefront of these efforts, working alongside international partners to address the contamination.

The 2020 conflict resulted in extensive landmine contamination, with then-time estimates suggesting that up to one million landmines might be present in the reclaimed territories.

Since 2020, 392 people have either been killed or wounded as a result of landmine explosions and unexploded ordnance left by the Armenian side. Notably, around 70% of these incidents occurred outside the former line of contact, in civilian areas.

By Khagan Isayev