(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5. Azerbaijan is among
the countries with the territory most contaminated with mines,
Technical Director at UK RPS energy Ltd. David Denman said during a
briefing in connection with the recent mine explosion in
Azerbaijan's Tartar district, trend reports.
"We arrived in Azerbaijan in 2021 at the invitation of the
Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). Our company is
engaged in mine clearance in many countries, but I have not seen
such a number of mines as in Azerbaijan anywhere else,” Denman
noted.
“I came here to study the process of clearing mines using RAMS
(Remote Aerial Minefield Survey) technology. Over the years of
cooperation, we have done a great job, achieved great success.
However, despite all efforts, people in the territories of
Azerbaijan are still dying from mines,” he further said.
“As you know, on April 28, people with whom we collaborated died
in Tartar. It's very hard for me to receive such bitter news every
time, but I say with full confidence and hope that together with
the ANAMA we'll be able to ensure the safe return of civilians to
these territories and accelerate the large-scale process of the
'Great Return'," he added.
Founded in 1970, RPS is a leading global professional services
firm of 5,000 consultants and service providers. Operating in 125
countries, it works across six sectors: property, energy,
transport, water, resources, defense and government services.
Its services span twelve clusters: project and program
management; design and development; water services; environment;
advisory and management consulting; exploration and development;
planning and approvals; health, safety and risk; oceans and
coastal; laboratories; training and communication and creative
services.
From 2021, ANAMA uses RAMS (Remote Aerial Minefield Survey)
technology to investigate minefields in cooperation with the RPS
Energy Ltd. Within the framework of this cooperation, 51,000
hectares of Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian
occupation were explored with the help of artificial
intelligence.
On April 28, as a result of a mine explosion in Tartar, Nadir
Yusifov, born in 1982, Sakhavat Gozalov, born in 1981 and Farid
Sadiyev, born in 1996, who collaborated with RPS Energy Ltd., were
killed.
Following the liberation of its lands from Armenian occupation
in the 2020 second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started
carrying out operations on clearing its lands of mines, booby
traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.
Since the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10,
2020, by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia [following the second
Karabakh war] up to date, a total of 299 people, including military
personnel and civilians, have become victims of mines as a result
of the explosion of mines laid by the Armenian armed forces, 55 of
them were killed, and 244 people were injured of varying
severity.