Failure to provide our country with maps of deadly areas is the continuation of war crimes

As a result of local anti-terrorist measures held on September 19-20 last year, our state sovereignty was fully established throughout the country. This victory also put an end to the acts of terrorism and sabotage committed by Armenia during the last 35 years. However, the mines placed on our lands during the years of occupation continue to take lives. Mostly civilians become victims of mine explosions. The next case of mine explosion was recorded on January 21.

The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Prosecutor's Office said that at 1:30 p.m. on the same day, information was received about a mine explosion in the liberated territory of Agdam region. Abishov Faig Sayyad, born in 1980, a resident of Kurdler village, Aghjabedi region, was injured in the leg. The citizen was evacuated to the hospital by police officers. The prosecutor's office inspected the scene of the incident and carried out other necessary investigative actions. Currently, an investigation is being conducted at the Agdam District Prosecutor's Office.

The incident was shared on the "X" social network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is mentioned in the post that another civilian was hit by a mine. Thus, the number of victims has reached 342 people since 2020: "The mines placed by Armenia indiscriminately continue to pose a threat to the innocent civilian population. Everyone should put pressure on Armenia to provide accurate information about mine maps."

The incident is an indication that the terrorist-provocative actions carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan have not ended. Official Iravan still does not want to provide accurate mine maps. The accuracy of mine maps given by him for several regions freed from occupation is not higher than 25 percent. Although Armenia talks about the importance of building trust in the region, it does not take one of the most important steps, such as giving the maps. This causes innocent Azerbaijani citizens to die or become disabled. Thus, after the signing of the tripartite statement dated November 10, 2020, 65 people were killed, including 50 civilians. 277 people, most of them civilians, were injured.

Hafiz Safikhanov, secretary of the Public Council under the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA), chairman of the Public Union "Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines", made a statement to XQ on the subject, stating that the number of landmine victims in our country is greater than the number of landmine victims in other regions of the South Caucasus. He noted that this fact is highlighted both at local and international events: "Unfortunately, this number continues to increase and, as they say, the end of the tunnel is not in sight. Because the scale of the problem is huge. This problem is not a three-to-five day problem and it seems that it will be with us for a long time. It should also be taken into account that former IDPs are already returning to their ancestral lands. This may also affect the number of cases of falling into landmines."

H. Safikhanov noted that the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance in the liberated territories is very serious: "Some experts note that there are about 1.5 million mines and unexploded ordnance in those territories. After the end of the second Karabakh war, as a result of persistent demands of the Azerbaijan state, Armenia gave our country 3 mine maps. The first mine map covered the Aghdam region. It was reported that there were 97,000 mines here. For the second time, maps were given for Fuzuli and the third time for Zangilan regions. It was mentioned that there were 92 thousand mines here. But then it became clear that the given mine maps cover areas belonging to the former front line. That is, it refers to the front line as of September 27, 2020. It is a 280-kilometer area from the Araz River to Murov Mountain. The maps of other areas have not yet been given to our country. Our research shows that 70-71 percent of the 342 people who fell into landmines after November 10, 2020, were people who fell into landmines outside the contact line, that is, in unmapped areas. This once again shows that the map of other mined areas should be given to Azerbaijan as a matter of urgency. Because Azerbaijan is implementing very large infrastructure projects in those areas. Villages and cities are being rebuilt for people to return. Among the mine victims are citizens of Azerbaijan who participate in the implementation of infrastructure projects. Today, there is no such region of Azerbaijan where there are no landmine victims.

As you can see, the problem of landmines is extremely urgent for our country at the moment. Clearing mine-contaminated areas is a long, labor-intensive, costly process. In order to build trust between the two countries, Armenia should immediately provide our country with an accurate map of the areas contaminated by mines, and show honesty regarding this issue. The constructive name that the official Yerevan will take on this issue can later serve as a basis for cooperation in other fields between the two countries.

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