On Friday evening, three Azerbaijani civilians were killed as a reult of a mine explosion in the Terter region. The tragedy happened on the territory that had not yet been cleared of Armenian mines. Baku calls on the international community to help stop Armenia's mine terror in Karabakh.
French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Boillon, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Peter Michalko, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva expressed their condolences over the incident. The European ambassadors and the UN representative assured that support for Azerbaijan in de-mining activities carried out in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan will continue.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on a mine explosion in Terter, expressing their deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
The ministry recalled that in the period after the 44-day war in 2020, 298 people have suffered from mine explosion, 54 of them died. The blast in Terter once again shows that Armenia, which did not provide Azerbaijan with accurate mine maps, continues military activities and mine laying on the territory of Azerbaijan in flagrant violation of paragraph 6 of the tripartite statement, creates obstacles to large-scale reconstruction work carried out in the post-conflict period, to the civilian population, the return of internally displaced persons and their peaceful life on their lands, the foreign ministry stressed.
"We call on the international community not to turn a blind eye to Armenia's flagrant violation of its international obligations, including the policy of deliberate planting of mines," the official statement reads.
Ombudsman's reaction
Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva appealed to the world community in connection with the death of civilians as a result of a mine explosion that occurred in Azerbaijan's Tartar district.
"The mine terror and the policy of hatred towards Azerbaijanis carried out by Armenia at the state level lead to the murder of innocent people," she stressed in the first place.
Sabina Aliyeva expressed her deep condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims.
The statement reminded that for almost 30 years, Armenia, grossly violating the norms of international humanitarian law, has planted hundreds of thousands of mines on Azerbaijani lands. Since the signing of the tripartite statement from November 10, 2020, about 300 people have become victims of mines, 54 of whom died. But, despite all this, Armenia not only evades providing accurate maps of the mines that it has installed on our territories, but also continues to pollute our liberated territories with mines through sabotage groups.
The Office said that discovery of 2021 Armenian-made anti-tank and anti-personnel mines during the investigation of recent mine incidents is further evidence of Armenia's continued policy of provocation in the post-Karabakh war period.
"The absence of a serious influence of the world community and relevant international organizations on Armenia in connection with mine terror in recent years," Sabina Aliyeva said.
She noted that despite repeated demands, Azerbaijan has not yet been provided with accurate mine maps, which ultimately leads to mine explosions and numerous casualties, severe injuries and disability.
"In this regard, once again addressing the world community, I urge you to support the demand of our country to provide accurate mine maps in order to eliminate the mine terror of Armenia, which is a source of serious danger to the life and health of people, and to take effective measures against Armenia, which continues to violate the requirements international humanitarian law," the statement reads.
Mine explosion
On April 28, as a result of the explosion of a mine in the Tartar, Nadir Yusifov (born in 1982), Sahavat Gozalov (born in 1981) and Farid Sadiyev (born in 1996), who collaborated with the RPS Energy Ltd company, which supplies independent oil and gas evaluations, seismic offshore operations, and offshore exploration, were killed.
Since the signing of the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020 by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on the transfer of detainees and up to today, a total of 298 people, including military personnel and civilians, have become victims of mines as a result of the explosion of mines laid by the Armenian armed forces, 54 of them were killed, 244 people were injured of varying severity.
