Mine Action Agency, UK ambassador tackle landmine threat in Azerbaijan Photo

Vugar Suleymanov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), held talks with Fergus Auld, the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, to discuss efforts in addressing the landmine threat in the region.

According to ANAMA, the meeting centred on large-scale humanitarian demining operations in areas recently liberated from occupation, Caliber.Az reports.

Both sides also exchanged views on potential international support for Azerbaijan’s ongoing battle against landmines and discussed prospects for further cooperation between the two nations.

To recall, since the conclusion of the Second Karabakh War in November 2020, Azerbaijan has encountered significant challenges in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from territories reclaimed during the conflict. 

The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) has led these efforts, collaborating with international partners to address the contamination.

The 2020 conflict left behind widespread landmine contamination, with early estimates suggesting up to one million landmines in the reclaimed areas. Since then, 392 individuals have been killed or injured by landmine explosions and unexploded ordnance left by Armenian forces.

Notably, around 70% of these incidents occurred in civilian areas, outside the former line of contact.

By Aghakazim Guliyev