ANAMA: We seek to step up demining of liberated lands

This year, the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) plans to clear 40,000 hectares of land from mine contamination, 8,000 of which will be allocated for housing construction, Samir Poladov, Deputy Chairman of ANAMA, said at the first Azerbaijan National Urban Forum in Aghdam.

According to him, it is planned to increase the cleaning rate to 65,000 hectares per year.

He noted that information on 390,709 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and unexploded ordnance is currently available, but it is incomplete.

"Aghdam has turned into a ghost town associated with mines. It is known that when withdrawing their forces from here, the Armenian armed formations additionally mined these territories," he said.

Under international pressure, Armenia issued some data on the location of mines, but these are not even maps. Only 25% of this data is accurate.

148,000 hectares of the liberated territories are recognized as especially dangerous, with the largest number of mines and other explosive objects, Poladov said.

"The most terrible consequence of mines is the lives of people. In addition, mines slow down the process of restoring territories. To date, only 55,000 hectares have been cleared of them," he said.