(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Details added, first version posted 10:22
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 25 . Armenia should be
pressured to provide accurate minefield maps to Azerbaijan,
reports
citing the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan about the threats as a result of the mining of
Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.
After the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from Armenian
occupation as a result of the Second Karabakh War, one of the main
threats that hinder large-scale restoration and construction work
carried out in the post-conflict period, threats to the military
and civilian population working in these territories, as well as
the return of forced internally displaced persons and peaceful
residence in their native lands is the purposeful mining of
Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, which has been carried out over
the past 30 years and continues to this day.
The statement said that Armenia violates paragraph 4 of November
10, 2020, continues to carry out illegal military activities and
not only doesn't withdraw its forces from the territory of
Azerbaijan but also keeps laying a large number of anti-personnel
mines on the territory of the country.
'In general, over the past 30 years, the number of victims of
mine explosions in Azerbaijan amounted to 3,345 people. A total of
266 citizens became landmine victims, of which 48 people died,
including three reporters from the end of the Second Karabakh War.
Of the 45 dead, 35 are civilians. Moreover, 38 women and 357
children became the victims of landmines over the past 30 years,'
the statement informed
'As of August 2022, after the Armenians left the territory of
the Lachin district, more than 1,400 E-001M mines, manufactured in
Armenia in 2021, were found on the territory, as well as new booby
traps were found on the doorsteps of houses and in courtyards in
Zabukh and Sus villages of Lachin district on October 3, which
indicates the scale and severity of the threat,' said the
statement.
'The laying of the mines on the territory of Azerbaijan once
again demonstrates that, despite the fact that the Lachin corridor
is intended only for the passage of civilians, goods and vehicles
in accordance with paragraph 6 of the tripartite statement, the
abuse of this road for the illegal military activities of Armenia
continues. It also demonstrates that claims that Armenia allegedly
didn't produce or export mines over the past decades are not true,
Armenian subversive groups using the dark time of the day and the
difficult terrain of the territory, tried to mine the supply routes
and the territories between the positions of the Azerbaijan Armed
Forces,' the statement said.
The ministry noted that the reliability of the mine maps
provided by Armenia since the signing of the tripartite statement
on November 10, 2020 is only 25 percent. About 55 percent of recent
mine explosions have occurred in mined areas not shown on maps. At
the same time, Armenia initially completely denied the existence of
these cards.
This activity of Armenia is a war crime and serious pressure
should be put on this country. The Azerbaijani side has repeatedly
raised the issue of mobilizing efforts to eliminate these threats
and provide large-scale assistance in the humanitarian mine
clearance carried out by Azerbaijan. In this regard, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov sent a corresponding
letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on August 23,
2022, which was distributed among all UN members.
Azerbaijani side also informed the International Court of
Justice about Armenia's activity, presenting relevant evidence. It
is necessary to put pressure on Armenia so that it fulfills its
obligations under the tripartite statement and international law in
general, renounces actions against the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, finally withdraws its armed forces from
the territory of Azerbaijan, immediately stops mining activities in
the territory of Azerbaijan and provides accurate maps of
minefields. These steps will help ensure peace and tranquility in
the region, said the statement.