Azerbaijan’s landmine problem in spotlight of Italian media

Italian news agencies Agenzia Nova and Kmetro have published articles highlighting the ongoing problem of mine contamination in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The articles mentioned that Azerbaijan is a country that suffers on a large scale from the problem of land mines and other types of unexploded ordnance. “This region has been since the beginning of the 90s - after the first Karabakh war – an area where one of the highest concentrations of mines is found. When Azerbaijan regained control of this region it found approximately 1.5 million landmines and an unknown number of war remnants scattered across approximately 12 percent of its territory. Landmines can remain active for many years, making them particularly treacherous. Over the past three and a half years, more than 200 incidents of landmine explosions have occurred in Azerbaijan, resulting in 359 casualties, including women and children,” the articles noted.

The articles also emphasized that Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, will host the 3rd International Conference on Mine Action on Friday. “The Caucasian country intends to use this opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships and establish new alliances towards achieving a world where there are no more mines. For Azerbaijan, the issue also has an additional significance this year, given that Baku holds the presidency of COP29, the international climate conference, and will focus tomorrow and Friday's event on the environmental impact of landmines and the mobilization of resources for a safe and green future. The conference will bring together global leaders, experts and stakeholders to collectively explore sustainable solutions and foster international collaboration,” the articles underlined.