Azerbaijani leader: France ranks among leading nations globally in terms of landmine use

"France ranks among the leading nations globally in terms of landmine use. Over 5 million mines were planted across Algeria alone," President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his address to the participants of the international conference themed "Neocolonialism: Violation of Human Rights and Injustice," Report, informs, citing AZERTAC.

"As a result, just like Azerbaijan, Algeria is among the top countries in the world suffering from mine explosions. On that list, immediately behind France, comes its close ally - Armenia. In just three years, some 340 Azerbaijanis, including civilians, fell victim to the mines planted by Armenia across Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories. Among others, one of the reasons that closely binds these two countries is the practice of resorting to mine terrorism.

"Eighteen thousand skulls of the fighters murdered throughout the colonial wars of the XIX century are kept and displayed at the Paris Museum of Mankind. The skulls of Algerian fighters are among the others on display. France is yet to comply with Algeria’s demand to return those skulls. Finding such a mentality in any country in the XXI century is a rare occurrence," the head of state noted.