USA allocates $2m for demining in Azerbaijan’s war-torn Karabakh region

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The USA has allocated some $2 million for demining activities in Azerbaijan’s war-torn Karabakh region, Azernews reports, citing the US Department of State.

“To promote regional peace and cooperation, the United States is pleased to announce $2,000,000 for humanitarian demining operations in areas affected by the fall 2020 intensive fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the South Caucasus,” the statement reads.

It stresses that landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to kill and maim civilians, stymie economic growth, and obstruct the safe return of displaced people across the combat zone.

“Building on the $500,000 announced in November 2021, new U.S. funding will continue to strengthen the technical capacity of demining organizations to clear deadly landmines and unexploded ordnance. These efforts play a critical role in bolstering human security and enabling displaced communities to return to their homes and rebuild their lives safely,” the statement adds.

Since 1993, as the world’s largest single financial supporter of conventional weapons destruction, the United States has invested over $4.7 billion in over 100 nations to promote international peace and security by addressing the hazards that landmines and unexploded ordnance pose to human lives.

All cities, including hundreds of towns, settlements, public and private properties, and countless infrastructural facilities, were entirely destroyed as a result of the Armenian invasion and occupation of Azerbaijani territory for about three decades.

Everything on these lands was destroyed not only during the war but also during the occupation period. Simultaneously, Armenia deliberately and persistently laid mines on Azerbaijani territory, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, posing a significant danger to regional peace, security, and cooperation.

Currently, the demining activities, as well as large-scale reconstruction work are underway in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.