ANAMA report on mines discovered in liberated areas last month

Monthly information on humanitarian demining operations carried out in de-occupied areas has been released, Azernews reports.

The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) detected and neutralised 141 anti-tank mines, 191 anti-personnel mines, and 2502 unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the liberated areas. Also, 6038.9 hectares of land have been cleared of mines.

It is worth noting that almost on a daily basis, Azerbaijani civilians face deadly remnants of war—landmines planted by Armenia. Throughout the period of conflict and the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, Armenia indiscriminately planted hundreds of thousands of mines and other explosive devices in the territories, including the areas where civilians lived.

More than 70% of landmine victims are civilians. Among them are people of all age categories. Despite attempts at formally requesting information about the location of those mines, Armenia repeatedly denied that it possessed the relevant information and refused to engage on the issue.

Finally, in February of this year, Armenia submitted 8 minefield maps of territories located in the liberated lands to Azerbaijan. These maps cover some of the areas along the former contact line. However, the maps covering part of the former contact line passing through Khojavand, Tartar, and Goranboy districts, as well as the areas mined by Armenian military units when they retreated in November 2020, have not been submitted yet.

Many have suspicions about these maps because previous minefield maps submitted by Armenia were inaccurate. According to the agency, only 25 percent of these maps were correct. Especially submitting minefield maps of the heights where civilians do not live increases this suspicion. It is also worth noting that more than 55% of recent landmine cases have occurred outside the areas covered by the information provided.