Difficult road to mine clearance

Baku/12.10.21/Turan: A conference "Overcoming the problems associated with landmines in Azerbaijan's striving for peace, development and reconstruction" was held in Baku. The event was organized by the non-governmental organizations LINKS Europe (The Hague) and the Center for Caucasian Policy Analysis within the framework of the Campaign “South Caucasus without Landmines” supported by the European Union in 2021. The Campaign “South Caucasus without Landmines” was successfully carried out for the first time in 2019.

The conference organizers note that the problem of landmines and unexploded ordnance is one of the biggest problems facing the South Caucasus region at the moment. This is a serious obstacle to Azerbaijan's path to peace, development and reconstruction, and especially after the 44-day Karabakh war.

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) from November 10, 2020 to October 2, 2021, in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan in Karabakh and East Zangezur, more than 5.5 thousand hectares of territories were cleared from mines and unexploded ordnance, 9835 anti-personnel mines, 4175 anti-tank mines were found and neutralized mines, as well as 11062 unexploded military shells. 150 military and civilians of Azerbaijan were wounded or killed. Minefields are one of the main problems in the liberated territories and their clearance may take years.

For the clearance of mines from the territories of the Karabakh conflict within the framework of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UK allocated 500 thousand pounds, and another 1 million pounds was allocated to provide assistance to the victims through the Red Cross, said Ambassador of this country James Sharp.

Earlier Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign the Ottawa Convention, which provides for the prohibition of the use of mines around the world, the British embassy said. French Ambassador Zachary Gross said that the European Union wishes to participate in this issue.

“This week a memorandum will be signed with ANAMA on the provision of 500 thousand Euros as humanitarian aid to the victims with the participation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Azerbaijan. This assistance is foreseen for 2021 and will continue next year,” he said.

The French Ambassador called the support of Russia, which is present in the Karabakh zone, an important factor in the success of the demining process. As you know, Russian specialists have already taken part in demining the territory of the Agdam region and continue to clear them in their area of ​​responsibility.

In August, the US Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) donated 10 specially trained mine hunting dogs to ANAMA. Until July 2023, the Marshall Institute plans to donate another 30 mine-detecting dogs to Azerbaijan.

In the process of demining, the Slovak radio-controlled Bozena-5 vehicles are successfully used. The state is also taking steps to resolve the problem. In early 2021, ANAMA's status was upgraded to the civil service level. After the end of the war, the government allocated $ 60 million for ANAMA.

The conference was attended by the heads of diplomatic missions of Great Britain, France, the Czech Republic, representatives of the civil sector. — 0—