Tbilisi conference sheds light on Armenia’s ongoing mine terror in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Georgia, Faig Guliyev, has sounded the alarm on the continued threat posed by Armenian landmines in territories liberated from occupation, warning that the deadly legacy of over three decades of military control is far from over.

Speaking at the international conference “Western Azerbaijan: Right and Justice for Return, Genocide, and Demining” held in Tbilisi, Guliyev said four mine-related incidents had been recorded in just the past eight days across Azerbaijani lands previously held by Armenian forces, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“This shows that the mining policy of the occupying forces, pursued systematically for more than 30 years, is still ongoing,” the ambassador stressed.

He noted that during the years of occupation, Armenia’s armed forces deliberately and extensively mined Azerbaijani territory. “Now those mines are killing our citizens,” Guliyev said. Since the end of the 2020 war, 70 people have been killed and 311 more have suffered serious injuries due to landmine explosions.

Guliyev pointed to staggering figures that reveal the scale of the problem. According to preliminary estimates, Armenia planted over 1.5 million mines across Azerbaijani territory. This has made Azerbaijan the fifth most mine-contaminated country in the world. In total, around 1,166,702 hectares of land are believed to have been mined — 211,800 hectares heavily contaminated and 954,902 hectares moderately so.

“More than 140,000 hectares have been cleared to date,” Guliyev said. “But this is just a fraction of what needs to be done.”

He also highlighted the enormous financial burden of clearing such vast areas: $349.1 million has already been spent on demining, with only $16.1 million of that coming from international donors.

“To fully clear these territories, an estimated $25 billion is needed,” he said, warning that — at the current pace — the effort may take up to 30 years to complete.

By Tamilla Hasanova