In post-conflict period, 350 Azerbaijanis become landmine victims - MFA

April 4 is celebrated as the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance for Mine Action.

During the nearly 30-year military occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan by Armenia, as well as in the current post-conflict period, Azerbaijan, which suffered from the threat of landmines and gave numerous landmine victims, emphasizes the importance of seriously fighting the threat of landmines, Azernews reports, citing the Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry pointed out that the threat of landmines continued by Armenia even in the post-conflict period slows down the restoration and reconstruction works in the region and the return of former IDPs to their lands, and remains a source of serious danger to the lives and health of Azerbaijanis.

"Even after the end of the 44-day Patriotic War and the end of the conflict, Armenia used the Lachin road for illegal purposes, including the continuation of the mine threat, contrary to its obligations. The discovery of more than 2,700 Armenian-made anti-personnel mines in 2022 in the territory of Lachin and Kalbajar districts confirms this fact. In September 2023, after the anti-terrorist measures, the discovery of the fact that more than 500,000 landmines were buried in the territories of Azerbaijan where Russian peacekeeping forces were temporarily deployed and along the perimeters of these territories are facts that prove the extent of this threat. At the same time, it has shown that the statements about the alleged non-production and export of mines by Armenia during the last decades have no basis.

A total of 350 Azerbaijani people became mine victims in the post-conflict period during the mine explosions that occurred almost daily as a result of the mine threat continued by Armenia. Among them, 50 civilians and 15 military personnel, 65 people died.

The geography of mine incidents that have occurred so far, and the fact that most of them have occurred outside the former contact line, especially in places where civilian objects, residential areas, as well as cemeteries are located, proves that Armenia's mine threat is purposefully aimed at high casualties among the civilian population. This, in turn, is the next manifestation of the existing ethnic hatred and intolerance on the part of Armenia against Azerbaijanis.

Despite repeated calls for Armenia to provide maps of mined areas to end this threat, this country has generally denied the existence of such maps for a long time. The reliability of the information presented as a result of pressure from the international community, covering a small part of the mined areas, was only 25%. More than 55% of recent mine incidents occurred outside the areas covered by the data provided.

The behavior exhibited by Armenia in relation to the mine threat is another blow to the measures taken in the direction of sustainable peace and confidence building in the region in the post-conflict period.

On April 4 - the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance for Mine Action, Azerbaijan once again calls on the international community to take consistent measures to condemn the mine threat of Armenia, to present mine maps by this country, and to support the elimination of the mine threat in Azerbaijan," the Ministry added.