ANAMA: 300ha area cleared of mines, UXOs in liberated Jojug Marjanli

Life returns back to Jojug Marjanli village of Azerbaijan's Fizuli region, which was liberated from Armenian occupation in last April. The activity of Azerbaijan’s National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) played an important role in this return, as the agency cleared the village of any explosive item left by the Armenian aggressors.

“A territory of 300 hectares was cleared of mines and unexploded ordinances in Jojug Marjanli village,” ANAMA Director Gazanfar Ahmadov told APA on July 18.

He said that 176 mines and UXOs were discovered and neutralized in the village. “Thus, we created conditions for IDPs to return to their native lands. It was the first step, and we hope that in the near future we will carry out such operations in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions,” said Ahmadov.

Jojug Marjanli village was fully liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016, when Azerbaijani Armed Forces prevented an Armenian provocation on the contact line. To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani army launched counter attacks and as a result, the Azerbaijani troops retook hills around the village of Talish, as well as Seysulan settlement, and also took over Leletepe hill located in the direction of Fuzuli region.

During the interview, Ahmadov noted that since the creation of ANAMA, its staff cleared more than 40,000 hectares of Azerbaijan’s territory, discovering and defusing over 760,000 mines and UXOs.

He also added that Azerbaijan has been implementing joint projects with NATO since 2005. “I would like to mention the Saloglu and Jeyranchol projects. This year the third stage of the Jeyranchol project commenced, and the implementation of this project will continue until 2018,” Ahmadov said.

ANAMA was established in 1998 for planning and coordination, management and monitoring of mine action related activities all over the country. The problem of unexploded ordnance in Azerbaijan can be divided into the areas that are still under the occupation of Armenian forces and other areas of the country. Most of the unexploded ordinances are the result of Armenian aggression.