Azerbaijan, Guba / Тrend corr A. Gafarov / The Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources applied to international organizations on the occasion of arsons committed by Armenians in the Azerbaijani occupied territory.
"Some 40,000 hectares of land have been burned in the Azerbaijani occupied territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh," the Azerbaijani Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Bagirov said on 24 November.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
Since 2006 Armenian have been committing arsons in the occupied Azerbaijani territory. OSCE monitoring group examined the area and confirmed the fact of arsons.
According to Bagirov, rare tree species in woods disappeared as a result of the arsons and several animals migrated.
"Mass migration of rodents to the villages located near to the occupied territory was revealed. The Ministry applied to international organizations in this connection," the Minister said.
International organizations apply double standards when estimating the environmental damage caused by Armenians, he said.