Government official: 80% of liberated areas have not yet been cleared of mines

80% of the liberated territories have not yet been cleared of mines, Rufat Mammadov, Chief of Staff of Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers, said during his speech at the II International Workshop on "Mine Action: Innovations and Best Practices" held in Baku, Report informs.

According to him, the presence of mines and unexploded ordnances in the area complicates the reconstruction work and the return of people to their homelands: “Demining is a time-consuming and expensive process. It has been three years since Azerbaijan liberated its territories from occupation, and during these 30 years, those territories have been brutally destroyed, religious and cultural monuments were demolished, the area was completely contaminated with mines. Even cemeteries and agricultural fields were mined.”