BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 22
Trend:
Engineering and fortification units of the Azerbaijani army, together with military sappers from Turkey, have demined more than 11,900 hectares of Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation [in the 2020 second Karabakh war], Trend reports citing Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry on Sept. 22.
"Engineering-sapper divisions of the Azerbaijani army, together with Turkish sappers, continue work to clear the liberated territories from mines and unexploded munitions,” the ministry said. “Demining of roads is being carried out in order to safely move convoys of automobile and military equipment. Engineering work is underway to lay new supply routes in the direction of the positions of our units deployed in the mountainous area.”
According to the ministry, the "MEMATT" equipment (mechanical equipment for mine clearance) produced by "ASFAT" company, subordinate to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, has been provided to engineering units of the Azerbaijani army stationed in the liberated territories.
This technique has been used in the work to clean up the settlements of Azerbaijan and cultivated areas from mines and unexploded munitions.
"To date, over 11,900 hectares have been cleared from mines in the liberated territories by the engineering-sapper divisions. In total, more than 16,000 mines and unexploded munitions have been disposed of. At present, measures are being continued in the liberated territories to detect and neutralize mines and unexploded munitions," added the ministry.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.