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Fatima Latifova

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The work to clear the liberated territories from landmines, unexploded military ordnance, explosive devices, and other explosive remnants continues, Azernews reports.

Since the 44-day Patriotic War, over 160,000 hectares of land in the Garabagh and Eastern Zangezur regions have been cleared, and more than 156,000 landmines and various types of military ordnance have been found and neutralized. During the mine clearance operations, traps and ordnance left by Armenian armed units have also been encountered.

Khalig Zulfugarov, the Operations Director of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), stated that the liberated territories are seriously contaminated with landmines and other explosive remnants of war. The activation of these explosives poses risks to human life and health, leading to long-term severe psychological trauma. In most cases, mine victims are civilians. Since November 2020, 377 civilians have become victims of landmines, with 69 losing their lives and 308 sustaining various degrees of bodily injuries.

Zulfugarov noted that several factors complicate the land clearance process. These include the non-standard, haphazard, and mixed placement of mines, the installation of surprises and traps, explosive devices made using improvised methods, the impact of the terrain, barbed wire and fences, contamination of the area with metal fragments, the sinking of mines due to rain and floodwaters, and the deformation of wooden and plastic-cased mines which makes them hazardous.

The increasing number of mine victims among civilians indicates that people still do not fully understand the real danger. “It is crucial for the population returning to or preparing to return to Garabagh and Eastern Zangezur to be protected from the risks posed by mines and other explosive remnants of war and to adhere to safety rules. ANAMA is carrying out public awareness campaigns in this regard. Informing young children and teenagers about surprise mines can save lives. Let us remember that deadly devices can be hidden inside any object, toy, or souvenir. Such cases have been repeatedly encountered in the liberated territories,” emphasized Zulfugarov.

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