BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.22
By Asif Mehman – Trend:
Azerbaijan seriously worries about the cases of mine explosions affecting the civilians and soldiers in the liberated territories after the end of the Second Karabakh War, military expert Shair Ramaldanov said, Trend reports on Feb.22.
According to Ramaldanov, Armenia refuses to provide a map of minefields for the territories, stating that it doesn’t exist.
“Of course, this is another lie of Armenia. The goal is clear: to achieve the death of as many people as possible and to delay as much as possible the process of returning Azerbaijanis to the liberated territories,” he noted.
The expert also pointed out that the mined area is rather big.
"The Azerbaijani government uses all the available opportunities, taking necessary security measures and appealing to international organizations for demining the territories. Turkish specialists have also joined the demining process," added the expert.
The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency reported that since the mine threat persists in the liberated territories, citizens aren’t allowed to visit them without special permission. Foreign experts also said that Armenia should provide Azerbaijan with a map of minefields, and refusing to do so is considered a war crime.
According to the editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense and military expert Igor Korotchenko. there are hundreds of square kilometers of mined areas in the territories liberated from the occupation.
"Without a map, it’s difficult to ensure the safe return of peaceful Azerbaijanis who became internally displaced persons from their native lands 30 years ago,” Korotchenko noted. “Unfortunately, we do not see the goodwill of Armenia in this matter. Armenia does not want to provide a map of mined territories as always, demonstrates the unconstructive approach."
Azerbaijan liberated the territories as a result of the 44-day war (from late Sept. through early Nov.2020).