BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 20. Operations to clear Azerbaijan's liberated territories from mines and unexploded ordnance by the special-purpose military unit of the Special Risk Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations rapidly continue, Trend reports citing the ministry.
According to the ministry, after the end of the 2020 Second Karabakh War, along with the employees of the relevant structures, a special-purpose military unit of the Special Risk Rescue Service has been involved in the mentioned operations.
The ministry noted that the operations are carried out in designated areas, in villages and towns, in the territories of reservoirs with drinking water, and along water canals.
The employees are provided with the most modern equipment and have been accredited by participating in international courses in this area, the ministry said.
Besides, according to the ministry, thanks to the attention and care of the head of state, remotely controlled "GCS-200" modern robots which can be used to clear both anti-personnel and anti-tank mines are used in the de-mining work.
One of the most important indicators is that if the characteristics of the terrain allow, then within an hour such a robot is able to clear an area of 1500 sq.m.
Specially trained dogs are also involved in the de-mining process. The need for sapper dogs arose due to the too large-scale contamination of territories by unexploded ordnance. Sapper dogs are able to detect a large number of mines and explosives, the ministry added.
Following the liberation of its lands from Armenian occupation in the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands of mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.
In 2022, Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) cleared over 8,780 anti-personnel, 4,133 anti-tank landmines, as well as 14,950 unexploded ordnance from 41,915 hectares of land.
A total of 7,944 hectares were cleared of mines, and 3,878 mines and unexploded ordnance were found on Azerbaijan's liberated territories in the first quarter of 2023.
