Mine Explosion In Gazakh Is Part Of Theatre Armenia Playing For Months

(MENAFN- AzerNews)

Fatime Letifova Read more

Yesterday, a mine explosion in the Gazakh region of Azerbaijanresulted in the injury of an employee of the State Border Service is worth noting that previously, in July 2020, Gazakh became asite for clashes with Armenia. Finally, in April of this year,Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement whereby Armenia handedover four villages within Gazakh District to Azerbaijan. Duringthese 4 years, the Armenian side tried to hinder the process bycreating problems and wanted to gain time regarding the return ofthe 4 Azerbaijani villages.

The point is that although the mine explosion in the recentlyreturned village of Gazakh raised similar suspicions, the differentversions raised some questions as well. Currently, two issues raisequestions: Is the mine explosion in Gazakh a coincidence, or didthe Armenians lay mines in this region in a very short time?

And finally, the injury of an Azerbaijani military serviceman asa result of an explosion reflects the example of the next Armenianprovocation.

In a comment for Azernews on the issue, theformer military attaché of Turkiye in Azerbaijan, General(Brigadier) Yucel Karayuz, noted that investigations will let usknow whether mine is new or not.

“First of all, I wish a speedy recovery to the injured soldier course, as a result of the crime scene investigation, it will befound out whether this mine was laid years ago or was newly laidwhile negotiations were ongoing," the military expert said.

He said that this act could be the result of Armenian oppositiongroups' provocations.

“Whether it is old or new, it is actually about the approach ofArmenia and different forces within Armenia. This may be anincident committed by a group that wants to undermine the processof normalisation against the Pashinyan government," the generaladded.

The expert reminded the Ottawa Convention regarding this issue that the Ottawa Convention is also known as the Mine BanTreaty. It aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines (APLs)around the world.

“Whether planted by the government, the army, or the oppositionin Armenia, ultimately, mines are a crime against humanity andsomething that is prohibited and should not be used according tothe Ottawa Convention," Yucel Karayuz noted.

The general also added that this is not a coincidence. Mines arethe specific weapons that need specific use.

“The mine explosion in Gazakh cannot be a coincidence. What wecall a mine is a weapon that is planted according to a certain keyand laid by the scattering method, just like in the fields," theexpert said.

Karayuz stressed that the Azerbaijani serviceman's injury shouldbe considered the next Armenian provocation.

“Of course, the injury of the Azerbaijani soldier is one ofArmenia's latest provocations and a part of supporting the theatreit has been playing for months," he added.

The military expert noted that the Azerbaijan National Agencyfor Mine Action (ANAMA) is on mission to discover all the mines inthe liberated territories, including Gazakh's villages.

“In fact, ANAMA will carry out mine search and scanningactivities in the regions, especially around the four recapturedvillages. A healthy life may be possible in these regions onlyafter normalisation and once the cleaning work is completed. It isnot stated, but I am sure that ANAMA has now started this activityin Gazakh,” he underlined.

The expert touched on Azerbaijan's mine problems caused byArmenia. He also said that Azerbaijan is one of the mostexperienced countries in this field.

“As we know, these activities continue at a high rate,especially after Garabagh was liberated. Azerbaijan is a state withthe highest international experience in this regard,” the Turkishgeneral emphasised.

It is worth noting that almost on a daily basis, Azerbaijanicivilians face deadly remnants of war-landmines planted by Armenia the period of conflict and the Armenian occupation ofAzerbaijan's territories, Armenia indiscriminately planted hundredsof thousands of mines and other explosive devices in theterritories, including the areas where civilians lived.

More than 70% of landmine victims are civilians. Among them arepeople of all age categories. Despite attempts at formallyrequesting information about the location of those mines, Armeniarepeatedly denied that it possessed the relevant information andrefused to engage on the issue.

Finally, in February of this year, Armenia submitted 8 minefieldmaps of territories located in the liberated lands to Azerbaijan maps cover some of the areas along the former contact line, the maps covering part of the former contact line passingthrough Khojavand, Tartar, and Goranboy districts, as well as theareas mined by Armenian military units when they retreated inNovember 2020, have not been submitted yet.

Many have suspicions about these maps because previous minefieldmaps submitted by Armenia were inaccurate. According to the agency,only 25 percent of these maps were correct. Especially submittingminefield maps of the heights where civilians do not live increasesthis suspicion. It is also worth noting that more than 55% ofrecent landmine cases have occurred outside the areas covered bythe information provided.

The behaviour that Armenia displayed in relation to the landminethreat is indeed another setback to the peace-building andconfidence-building measures taken during the post-conflict periodin the region.

It is worth noting that as Azerbaijan's liberated territoriesremain contaminated with mine, the new infrastructure and greenenergy projects remain a risky and problematic goal. Theseobstacles to a legal peace are part of the challenges facing therepopulation, development, and integration of the liberatedterritories on the path to a full peace.

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