"Since November 2020, as a result of large-scale demining operations carried out by Azerbaijan in liberated lands, 81,386 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance," Chairman of the Management Board of the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA) Vugar Suleymanov said at the II International Conference on "Mine Action - The Path to Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals" held in Ağdam, APA reports.
He said that Azerbaijan is one of the countries most contaminated by mines: "These hidden dangers not only cause human tragedies, but also hinder social and economic development. This is also the main obstacle for peace and stability in the region."
Informing the participants of the conference about demining operations in liberated areas, ANAMA Chairman said that as a result of demining operations, 81,386 hectares of land were cleared of mines and unexploded military ammunition, a total of 88,260 mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), including 28,259 anti-personnel mines, 15,303 anti-tank mines and 44,698 unexploded ordnance, were detected and neutralized.
"Despite the achieved progress, the threat of landmines continues. In the last 32 months, 302 Azerbaijani citizens became victims of landmine explosions. 57 of them died and 245 people were injured. Since the beginning of the conflict that arose as a result of Armenia's territorial claims in 1991, 358 people have been killed as a result of landmine explosions. A total of 3,381 Azerbaijani citizens, including 1 child and 38 women were killed or injured".
Zumrud Pashkin
Habil Aslanoglu
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