Mines and Unexploded Ordnance: Nepalese media highlights lingering threat in Post-War Azerbaijan

On June 5, Nepal’s leading media outlet Nepalkhabar published an article titled “Mines and Unexploded Ordnance: The Silent Threat in Post-War Azerbaijan.” Authored by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan accredited in both India and Nepal, the article aims to raise global awareness about the severe security, humanitarian, and developmental challenges Azerbaijan continues to face due to landmine contamination, Azernews reports.

According to the article, since 1991, Armenian armed forces heavily mined the territories they occupied in Azerbaijan, including the Garabagh region and seven surrounding districts. As a result, Azerbaijan is now among the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. More than 13% of the national territory is affected, with an estimated 1.5 million landmines and unexploded ordnance remaining.

The report underscores that this widespread contamination significantly hampers the safe return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of liberated territories. Since the end of the Second Garabagh War, landmine explosions have killed or injured 397 Azerbaijani citizens.

Despite repeated appeals from Azerbaijan for minefield maps, Armenia initially denied their existence. Only after sustained international pressure did it hand over maps, which turned out to cover only a fraction of mined areas and were merely 25% accurate. Alarmingly, more than 55% of recent mine incidents occurred outside the zones marked on these maps.

The article highlights Azerbaijan’s extensive demining operations, public awareness campaigns, and victim support programs. The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) employs advanced demining technologies to ensure safe and effective clearance. While over 95% of demining activities are funded by the Azerbaijani government and have yielded significant results, the article stresses that the scale of the problem requires greater international political and financial support.

The piece also details Azerbaijan’s global initiatives on mine action. Notably, humanitarian demining has been designated as the country’s 18th National Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Azerbaijan is actively advocating for the formal recognition of demining as the 18th Global SDG by the United Nations.