BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 6. The leading Nepali media portal Nepalkhabar published an article titled "Mines and unexploded ordnance: The silent threat in post-war Azerbaijan" on June 5, Trend reports.
The article, authored by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in India, also accredited in Nepal, aims to draw the attention of the world community to this large-scale security, humanitarian, and development problem facing Azerbaijan.
The article pointed out that since 1991, the territories of
Azerbaijan that were once under occupation, including the Karabakh
region and seven neighboring districts, have been a real hotbed of
landmines, thanks to the armed forces of Armenia. As a result,
Azerbaijan now finds itself in a pickle, being one of the most
mine-riddled countries around.
The article states that around 1.5 million mines and unexploded
ordnance are still lurking in over 13 percent of the country's
land, a real ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
The publication highlighted that this issue really throws a wrench
in the works of recovery and reconstruction efforts in the
liberated territories, as well as the safe and dignified return of
internally displaced persons to their homes. It also noted that 397
Azerbaijani citizens were caught in the crossfire, suffering
casualties from mine explosions following the conclusion of the
Second Karabakh War.
Despite numerous calls from Azerbaijan to provide mine maps, Armenia has long denied the existence of such maps, and it is reported that these maps, which it provided only after international pressure, cover only a small part of the mined areas and are only 25 percent accurate, and that more than 55 percent of recent mine incidents occurred outside the areas covered by these maps.
Furthermore, the article noted that large-scale mine clearance operations, awareness campaigns, and support measures for mine victims are being carried out in Azerbaijan in order to eliminate the effects of the mine problem.
Besides, according to the publication, the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) widely uses advanced mine clearance technologies and tools to ensure the safe and efficient clearance of areas from mines.
The article emphasized that despite financing more than 95 percent of these activities by the government of Azerbaijan and achieving serious results, the external contributions allocated are insufficient considering the scale of the problem and that a larger amount of international political and practical support is needed.
The article also provided extensive information on the global activities carried out by Azerbaijan on the mine problem and the initiatives put forward.
In particular, it is noted that humanitarian mine clearance has been identified as the 18th National Sustainable Development Goal by the Azerbaijani government, and active advocacy work is being carried out for this area to be recognized by the UN as the 18th Global Sustainable Development Goal.
The full text of the article can be found at the following link:
https://en.nepalkhabar.com/news/detail/14098/
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel