Civilian severely injured in mine blast in Goranboy

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

An Azerbaijani civilian has been severely injured in a mine blast in Goranboy region’s Tapgaragoyunlu village, Trend reported on January 18, citing the regional prosecutor's office.

Tapgaragoyunlu village resident Vugar Mammadov (25) hit an anti-personnel mine while grazing sheep, the report added.

As a result of the incident, Mammadov was hospitalized and his leg was amputated.

The Goranboy regional prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the incident. Prosecutors visited the scene, conducted a forensic medical examination, and took other procedural steps.

In an address to the 6th Eastern Partnership Summit of the European Union held in Brussels on December 15, 2021, President Ilham Aliyev said that about 200 people had been killed or injured in mine explosions to that date. In this regard, he stressed the importance of the European Union and member states providing technical and financial assistance to Azerbaijan to eliminate the mine problem.

Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security, and cooperation.

On June 12, 2021, Azerbaijan handed over 15 Armenian prisoners in exchange for a map detailing the location of 97,000 mines in Aghdam.

On July 3, 2021, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan maps of about 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines planted during the occupation of Fuzuli and Zangilan regions.

Yerevan submitted to Baku all mine maps of Azerbaijan's liberated territories as a result of talks through Russia's mediation on December 4, 2021. The accuracy of the maps is still to be checked.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered peace agreement on November 10, 2020, to end 44 days of fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.