Over the past three years, 109,552 mines and other explosive remnants have been found in liberated areas, Vugar Suleymanov, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA), said during his speech at the II International Workshop on "Mine Action: Innovations and Best Practices" held in Baku, Report informs.
According to him, as a result of demining operations conducted since November 2020, a total of 111,207 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and explosive remnants of war. In short, a total of 109,552 mines and other explosive remnants of war, including 30,753 anti-personnel mines, 18,531 anti-tank mines, and 60,268 unexploded ordnance, have been found and defused.
Suleymanov said that Azerbaijan is among the countries most polluted by mines globally: “As a result of the research and findings conducted after the liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, it was determined that the area of the mine-contaminated territories is larger than expected. Unidentified landmines and explosive remnants of war cause serious problems for the well-being of our citizens and the sustainable development of the depopulated territories. The impact of mines on the environment is quite large. According to preliminary estimates, about 1.5 million landmines were placed in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, and about 9,000 square kilometers were contaminated with mines.”