A total of 287,385 hectares have been cleared during demining operations in Azerbaijan's liberated territories, with 255,200 mines and unexploded ordnance (189,097 items of unexploded ordnance, 42,235 anti-personnel mines, and 23,868 anti-tank mines) detected and neutralized, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) Vugar Suleymanov said at a briefing marking the agency's 28th anniversary, APA reports.
The ANAMA chairman said the agency currently conducts large-scale operations using modern technologies, innovative methodologies, mechanical demining equipment, mine detection dogs, and highly qualified specialists.
"Azerbaijan's humanitarian demining experience is one of the areas of activity that is being studied with great interest and regarded as a model internationally. Although the latest technologies and mechanical equipment are used, the main driving force behind humanitarian demining remains human labor. The professionalism, precision, and sense of responsibility of deminers are the key factors ensuring the success of every operation.
It was noted that following the Patriotic War, one of the greatest humanitarian challenges facing Azerbaijan has been the extensive contamination of the liberated territories with mines and other explosive ordnance.
The ANAMA chairman said Azerbaijan is currently one of the countries most heavily contaminated by mines and explosive ordnance in the world.
"Considering that the liberated territories have complex terrain and dense vegetation, operations in such difficult-to-access areas further complicate humanitarian demining activities.
The mine threat facing our country continues to pose a serious danger to people's lives and health, the environment, reconstruction efforts, and the implementation of the Great Return Program.
The mine threat is not merely a security issue. It is one of the main obstacles to humanitarian, social, economic, and environmental development. Every cleared plot of land contributes to the establishment of new settlements, the construction of roads, schools, hospitals, energy and water infrastructure, the development of agriculture, and the safe return of people to their native lands.
For this reason, humanitarian demining is one of the key priorities of the Great Return Program implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. As a result of the agency's activities, new areas are cleared of mine threats every day and made safe for residential, infrastructure, and agricultural use. Life is returning to lands where every step once posed a danger, with villages and cities being rebuilt and large-scale projects being implemented."
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