(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fatime Letifova
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A weekly report (01.07.2024 - 07.07.2024) on operations carried
out by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) in
the liberated territories has been released.
28 anti-personnel mines, 107 anti-tank mines, and 830 unexploded
ordnances (UXOs) were discovered in Tartar, Aghdam, Aghdara,
Lachin, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojaly, Khankendi, Kalbajar, Khojavend,
Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan.
An area of 1039.5 hectares was cleared of mines and UXOs.
Note that the number of mine victims since the Second Garabagh
War has reached 350, and 65 of them have died. More than 70% of
landmine victims are civilians. Among them are people of all age
categories. The total number of landmine victims in Azerbaijan is
3,429, including 357 children and 38 women. 595 of those people
lost their lives.
Despite attempts at formally requesting information about the
location of those mines, Armenia repeatedly denied that it
possessed the relevant information and refused to engage on the
issue.
Finally, in February of this year, Armenia submitted 8 minefield
maps of territories located in the liberated lands to Azerbaijan.
These maps cover some of the areas along the former contact line.
However, the maps covering part of the former contact line passing
through Khojavand, Tartar, and Goranboy districts, as well as the
areas mined by Armenian military units when they retreated in
November 2020, have not been submitted yet.
Many have suspicions about these maps because previous minefield
maps submitted by Armenia were inaccurate. Only 25 percent of these
maps were correct. Especially submitting minefield maps of the
heights where civilians do not live increases this suspicion. It is
also worth noting that more than 55% of recent landmine cases have
occurred outside the areas covered by the information provided.
The behaviour that Armenia displayed in relation to the landmine
threat is indeed another setback to the peace-building and
confidence-building measures taken during the post-conflict period
in the region.
It is worth noting that while Azerbaijan's liberated territories
remain contaminated with mine, the new infrastructure and green
energy projects remain a risky and problematic goal. These
obstacles to a legal peace are part of the challenges facing the
repopulation, development, and integration of the liberated
territories on the path to a full peace.
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