Azerbaijani ombudswoman urges international community to condemn Armenian mine terror

The Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudswoman) has urged the international community to condemn Armenia’s mine terror.

Aliyeva made the remarks in a statement about a mine explosion, which caused the injury of an Azerbaijani civilian in the Kalbajar region on July 13, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Ombudsman Office.

The statement says that the mines and unexploded ordnance planted by the Armenian side on the territory of Azerbaijan continue to pose a serious threat to the lives of civilians.

“Thus, on July 13 this year, a civilian of Azerbaijan, who was engaged in individual entrepreneurial activities in the territory of the village of Seyidlar, Kalbajar region, was injured as a result of a mine explosion.

The mine terror committed by Armenia against our country leads to the death or injury of our military personnel and civilians and also slows down the process of returning former internally displaced persons to their native lands, creating obstacles for the activities of business entities, and restoration work carried out in the region.

The planting of mines in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and the lack of accurate maps of the mined territories is an open demonstration of Armenia's disrespect for the norms and principles of international and humanitarian law.

As the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I call on the relevant international organizations to take decisive steps to curb mine terror by Armenia and transfer accurate mine maps to Azerbaijan,” the statement says.

Totally, 3383 Azerbaijani people were injured, and 358 of them were children, 38 were women, between 1991 and June 16, 2023.

Between November 2020 and June 16, 2023, out of 304 Azerbaijani people in total 143 civilians (44 killed, 99 injured) and 161 military personnel (13 killed, 148 injured) died as a result of mine explosions, received various bodily injuries and suffered various severe injuries, according to the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA).