The world needs to show solidarity with Azerbaijan in the fight against landmines, Report informs, citing an article published on commonspace.eu.
"On the occasion of the 4 April, marked across the globe as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Azerbaijan seeks to raise awareness about the challenges it faces with landmines in its territory," writes Vasif Huseynov in the op-ed for commonspace.eu. "Azerbaijan needs the engagement of the international community to encourage Armenia to hand over any relevant information they possess that would be helpful in the demining process. Additionally, the assistance of the international community to demine the region and provide suitable conditions for the return of the IDPs would be welcomed. The world needs to show solidarity in the fight against the challenges of this magnitude," the article reads.
The author of the material notes that the liberation of the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan in 2020 was a momentous occasion for Azerbaijanis, in particular for internally-displaced people who had been expelled from their homelands in the early 1990s.
"After decades of displacement, the Azerbaijani people had the chance to return to their homes and rebuild their communities. However, this joyous occasion has been overshadowed and marred by the widespread presence of landmines and explosive remnants of war left behind by Armenia," the article reads.
The author said that the formerly-occupied territories make Azerbaijan one of the most contaminated countries with landmines and explosive remnants of war in the world.
"Throughout the conflict and its occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, Armenia indiscriminately planted hundreds of thousands of mines and other explosive devices, including in civilian areas. Unfortunately, Armenia continued to transfer landmines to the part of the Karabakh region that is under temporary control of Russia’s peacekeeping mission in violation of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 and planted them in the region. Since August 2022, nearly 2,700 landmines manufactured in Armenia in 2021 (i.e. after the end of the Second Karabakh War) have been discovered in Azerbaijan," the article reads.
According to it, over the past two years of the post-conflict period, more than 288 Azerbaijanis were killed or injured by mine explosions. According to official assessments, Azerbaijan requires approximately $25 billion to solve issues related to demining.
The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have been working to clear the liberated territories of mines and other explosive weapons. As of early February 2023, a total of 64,000 hectares (158,000 acres) of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan have been cleared of mines since November 2020.