Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency reports 382 landmine victims since 2020

Since the Second Karabakh War, 382 people have fallen victim to landmines, including 70 fatalities and 312 individuals who sustained injuries of varying severity, according to the Mine Action Agency of the Azerbaijan Republic (ANAMA).

Head of ANAMA's education, international and public relations department, Ramil Azizov highlighted that, most of the mine-related incidents that resulted in deaths and injuries occurred in areas previously known as the "line of contact," Caliber.Az reports per local media.

"Around 70 percent of these incidents were recorded not at defensive positions, but outside the former line of contact, in civilian areas. Undoubtedly, as a result of awareness and information campaigns since 2020, there has been a reduction in the number of such incidents," Azizov stated.

He stated that over half of these cases were prevented through measures taken in cooperation with state institutions, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and healthcare and social protection agencies.

The department head also noted that to date, 177,000 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), and over 176,000 mines and UXO have been discovered and neutralized.

Speaking about ANAMA’s collaboration with civil society institutions, he highlighted that the educational activities carried out alongside demining operations have had a significant impact on reducing the number of incidents.

By Aghakazim Guliyev