The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan has made an appeal to international organizations regarding the landmine incident involving Azerbaijani servicemen in Kalbajar, the Ombudsman’s Press Service told APA.
"Mines and unexploded military ordnance planted by Armenia during the occupation period in our liberated territories continue to pose a threat to the life and health of civilians and military personnel.
As a result of a landmine explosion in the territory of the Kalbajar district, five servicemen of the Azerbaijani Army sustained injuries of varying degrees.
Landmines that were massively planted across the territory of Azerbaijan and for which accurate maps have not been provided to this day remain a major threat to the lives and health of innocent people on a daily basis. The planted mines also hinder the return of former internally displaced persons to their native lands, obstruct the reconstruction and restoration efforts being carried out in these areas, and cause serious damage to the environment, leading to the disruption of ecological balance in the region.
Despite the repeated appeals made by the Azerbaijani side to international organizations regarding the provision of accurate maps of the landmines planted in our liberated territories, Armenia, in violation of the requirements of international humanitarian law, continues to evade sharing this information.
As the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I once again call on the relevant international organizations to exert serious pressure on Armenia for the transfer of accurate mine maps to Azerbaijan and to strongly respond to the committed military and environmental crimes, as well as violations of humanitarian law," the statement said.
