BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 9. The Germany-based European Azerbaijan Center has appealed to international organizations regarding the injuries of five people, including children, as a result of mine explosions that occurred on April 6 and 7 in the liberated and mine-contaminated areas of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
The appeal emphasized that this tragic incident once again shows that mines deliberately placed by Armenia in our territories continue to be a source of danger in the region.
Moreover, it was noted that 392 people have been killed or injured as a result of mine explosions since the Second Karabakh War's end in November 2020.
It was pointed out that although demining activities in Azerbaijan are continuing at a rapid pace, this process is accompanied by serious difficulties. One of the biggest obstacles is Armenia’s refusal to provide mine maps. During the nearly 30-year occupation, millions of mines have been systematically and systematically buried in Azerbaijani territories, and accurate maps of mined areas have either not been provided at all, or the maps provided are incomplete and inaccurate, which both slows down the demining process and seriously endangers people’s lives and health.
The European Azerbaijan Center called on the international community to recognize the humanitarian disaster and large-scale threat posed by mines, to provide political and technical support to Azerbaijan’s demining efforts, and to ensure that Armenia bears responsibility for failing to provide maps of mined areas in violation of international law, thereby putting people’s lives at risk.
"Landmines not only endanger human lives, but also hinder peace, stability, and post-conflict reconstruction processes in the region. We hope that the international community will not remain indifferent to this call and will demonstrate more effective and active support for eliminating the threat," the appeal said.
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