Azerbaijani presidential aide condemns Armenia's ongoing landmine terror in Karabakh PHOTO

Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has shared a post on the social media platform X about the ongoing mine terror in the liberated territories. 

“The terror of landmines in Azerbaijan persists. Since 2020, nearly 400 Azerbaijani citizens have fallen victim to landmine explosions. These mines were deliberately and extensively planted by Armenia during its occupation of Azerbaijani territories,” Caliber.Az quotes Hajiyev as saying on X on May 31.

“In many cases, the mines were laid without any military necessity—solely to target civilians and deliberately delay the safe return of displaced populations to their ancestral lands. In this context, landmines function as weapons of mass destruction and pose a serious threat,” he wrote.

To recall, three separate landmine incidents in late May have once again highlighted the ongoing danger posed by mines in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories.

On May 29, an Azerbaijani Army serviceman, Sadigov Khudaverdi Hasan oglu, was injured during mine clearance operations near Istisu in the Kalbajar region. According to the Defence Ministry, an anti-personnel mine planted by Armenian forces detonated while engineer-sapper units were working. Sadigov sustained an injury to his left leg and was promptly evacuated to a military hospital after receiving first aid on-site.

On May 30, 46-year-old Telman Huseynov, a resident of Yukhari Garadaghli in Tartar district, was seriously injured by a landmine while grazing cattle near Girmizikand village in the Aghdara region. He was initially treated at Tartar District Central Hospital before being transferred to Barda District Central Hospital. Medical officials confirmed a traumatic lower-leg amputation and a shrapnel wound to his right leg. He is scheduled to undergo surgery at the Chopart joint, and his condition remains serious.

The following day, on May 31, another landmine explosion injured 45-year-old Qalib Abbasov, a resident of Garachinar village in Goranboy district. The incident occurred near Yenikend village, along the former line of contact. Abbasov was grazing cattle when he stepped on a mine, resulting in the amputation of his left leg below the knee.

The incident highlights the ongoing threat posed by landmines in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories, particularly in the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions. As part of its post-conflict recovery strategy, Azerbaijan has prioritised large-scale demining operations. However, progress remains hindered by the extensive presence of mines and unexploded ordnances reportedly planted by Armenian forces during decades of occupation.

Since the 1990s, over one million landmines are believed to have been laid in Karabakh and surrounding areas. Despite the end of the 2020 war, nearly 3,000 Armenian-made mines produced in 2021 were discovered in the Kalbajar and Lachin districts, pointing to continued risks even after hostilities ceased.

Currently, an estimated 12 per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory is contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war, posing a major obstacle to reconstruction and the safe return of displaced populations.

By Khagan Isayev