The numerous landmines planted by Armenia in the occupied territories impede not only construction and restoration work, but also the exhumation of remains in mass graves, State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Citizens said in a statement on the occasion of International Mine Awareness Day.
According to Report, the civil service recalled that Armenia mined territories not only during the years of occupation, but also in the post-conflict period, which led to excessive mine contamination of the region.
"The mines and unexploded ordnance installed here hinder not only construction and restoration work and the return of former internally displaced persons to their native lands, but also excavations and exhumation of remains in mass graves where missing Azerbaijani citizens are supposedly buried," the statement says.
The statement notes that the process of clearing mines at burial sites takes a long time: "This circumstance aggravates the suffering of our citizens, who have been waiting for more than thirty years for news about their missing relatives, and is a clear example of Armenia's disrespect for international humanitarian law.
The State Commission strongly condemns the mine terror of Armenia, which resulted in the death and injury of civilians and impeded the work to clarify the further fate of our missing citizens," the statement says.
