Azerbaijan spent nearly $350M on demining in its liberated areas since Nov. 2020

Some $349 million have been spent on demining operations conducted in the liberated Azerbaijani territories since the end of the Second Karabakh War on November 10, 2020.

This was announced by Hafiz Safikhanov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Campaign Against Landmines Public Union, at a press conference on Tuesday, News.Az reports.

Safikhanov stressed that $16 million of this total has been provided by other countries, international institutions, and organizations to support Azerbaijan’s demining efforts.

He said that Azerbaijan's liberated territories continue to face a significant landmine threat, with an estimated 1,166,702 hectares believed to contain these deadly devices.

“From the November 10 agreement until August 15, 2024, a staggering 66 percent of all landmine incidents, resulting in 46 deaths and 214 injuries, occurred outside the former contact line. Humanitarian demining operations in Azerbaijan adhere to the stringent United Nations standards, which require a 99.7 percent clearance rate. In contrast, military demining operations based on NATO standards typically achieve approximately 70 percent clearance,” he added.

News.Az