Rey Karimoglu: For first time in Azerbaijan, NGO will determine coordinates of mine incidents

The Azerbaijan Mine Victims Association (AMVA) has launched the project "Safe Return: Supporting the Fight Against Mine Threats," Rey Karimoglu, chairman of the public association, told Olaylar.

The project is being implemented with the joint financial support of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations and the Karabakh Revival Fund.

According to Karimoglu, during the years that Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands, these territories were contaminated with nearly 1.5 million mines and unexploded ordnance.

"The locations of mine incidents that have occurred since 2020 are known. However, the coordinates of mine incident sites in areas where intense fighting took place during the First Karabakh War are missing. As a result of our previously implemented projects, we have compiled a database that also includes information on 1,360 mine victims. We will travel to these areas and, based on the information received from the victims, determine the coordinates of these sites and submit them to ANAMA for mine mapping," Karimoglu said.

He noted that the project will initially be implemented over four months in the Aghdam, Aghdara, and Tartar districts, with plans to expand to other liberated territories in the future.

According to Karimoglu, this is the first such project implemented by an NGO in Azerbaijan.

"According to information provided to us by international organizations with which we cooperate, this is considered a unique phenomenon in global practice," he emphasized.