Land mines in Nagorno-Karabakh

Last updated
Land mine situation in Nagorno-Karabakh
DeminingNK.jpg
HALO Trust deminers clearing anti-tank mines
Date1991–present
Location
Result Thousands of mines laid by both sides. Till present mines still result in casualties and prevent many hectares of agricultural land from being cultivated
Belligerents
Artsakh, Armenia Azerbaijan
Casualties and losses
~123–180 dead,[ citation needed ]
~300–507 injured[ citation needed ]
?
?

The region of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas around it are considered to be some of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union. Mines were laid from early 1990s by both Azerbaijani and Armenian forces during and after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The worst-affected areas are along the fortified former contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, in particular in the districts of Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil. According to military experts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ground in those areas is covered with "carpets of land mines." [1] The region has the highest per capita rate in the world of accidents due to unexploded ordnance. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Production, stockpiling and use

Soviet PMN-2 - the most common AP mine in Karabakh. Pmn.gif
Soviet PMN-2 - the most common AP mine in Karabakh.
Location of Nagorno-Karabakh Location Nagorno-Karabakh2.png
Location of Nagorno-Karabakh

Artsakh has stated that it has never produced or exported mines, and has not purchased new mines since 1995; its mine stockpile consists of mines left over from the former Soviet Union (PMN, PMN-2, POMZ-2, OZM-72, TM-57 and TM-62 mines). [5]

In 2013, the military forces of Nagorno-Karabakh reported they planted more anti-personnel mines along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact, east and north of disputed area. [6] [7]

Victims

It is impossible to give the exact number of people injured or killed in Nagorno-Karabakh on landmines because of lack of any records during the war itself, as well as no complete information available up until 2000. According to the Artsakh Ministry of Health, between June 1993 and May 1999 the number of victims of explosions, including landmines, was 687 (180 killed and 507 injured). [8] Since the cease-fire in 1994 to the end of 2004, 326 mine/UXO casualties were reported, including at least 77 people injured since 2000. As of 2019, the Red Cross mission in Nagorno-Karabakh had registered 747 cases of landmine victims, of which 59% were civilians. [9]

An estimated 69,000 residents in 60 villages in Armenia are afflicted by the problem. [10]

After the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, seven Azerbaijani troops and 18 civilians have died and more than 100 have been wounded by land mines in the area of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. [11]

ICBL perspective

According to Landmine Monitor in 2003, 21 new mine and UXO casualties were recorded in Nagorno-Karabakh, including nine people killed and twelve people injured. Casualties increased significantly in the first six months of 2004, with 30 new mine/UXO casualties recorded; eleven people were killed and nineteen injured, including three children. New landmine and UXO casualties had been decreasing since the ceasefire in 1994. In 1995, there were 86 casualties, 64 in 1996, 25 in 1997, 16 in 1998, and 30 in 1999. There were fourteen casualties (five killed and nine injured) in 2000, nineteen casualties (four killed and fifteen injured) in 2001, and seventeen casualties (all injured) in 2002. According to HALO, the increasing casualty numbers are the result of record harvests produced in recent years and a greater investment in agriculture. As farmers try to increase their agricultural boundaries, more suspected mined areas are being ploughed—despite advice from HALO and the government, and the presence of danger mine signs. Most incidents involve antivehicle mines. The number of annual incidents per capita in Nagorno-Karabakh is far higher than other heavily mine-affected countries such as Cambodia or Afghanistan. The thirty new casualties in 2004 represent 2.5 people for every 10,000 inhabitants. In 2004, 34 new mine/UXO casualties, including ten people killed and 24 injured, were reported in 25 incidents; another nine people were involved in the incidents but did not suffer physical injuries. At least three of the casualties were children. This represents a further significant increase from the 21 new mine/UXO casualties recorded in 2003. Of the 25 incidents in 2004, fourteen were caused by antivehicle mines, seven by antipersonnel mines and four by UXO. In 2004, one deminer was injured during mine clearance operations. [8] In 2005, one person was killed and three people were injured in five mine/UXO incidents to June; one other person did not suffer physical injuries.

This year, we have cleared almost entirely the territory of the village Shurnukh in the Syunik region [in southern Armenia],” said Movsisian. “Before they withdrew from the village, the Azerbaijanis randomly mined arable lands, gardens and some of the forests. We got the job fully done in the village and cleared 215,000 square metres. Locals can now cultivate their land without fear

[ citation needed ]

UN perspective

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) says 123 people have been killed and over 300 injured by landmines near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1994 truce ended a six-year conflict between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. [12]

Survey and clearance

Survey

The HALO Trust is the only agency that conducts minefield survey, mapping and marking of Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 2000, HALO has surveyed more than 10 km2 (2,470 acres) of land, and this survey was ongoing in 2005. HALO reports that it marks all the suspect areas it surveys with “Danger Mines!” signs. Post-clearance survey is carried out on a case study basis on some sites, as most areas are handed over and used almost immediately after they have been cleared.

There is no information on the number of mines laid along the current border-line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan, but it is common knowledge that mines were being laid by both sides along the border during several years after the end of the conflict. It is estimated that far greater mine clearance capacities will be required when the peace agreement is signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Clearance

School posters in Karabakh educating children on mines and UXO Mines-raffi-kojian-IMG 1384.JPG
School posters in Karabakh educating children on mines and UXO

The Artsakh Defense Army has an engineering battalion that is involved in the clearance of minefields of strategic importance.

The HALO Trust is the only other organisation conducting demining in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1995 and 1996 HALO conducted an 18-month-long programme in Karabakh that established a mine clearance capacity for the local authorities. This included a survey of the region and the equipping and training of deminers. The teams operated without assistance for three years and whilst they successfully cleared hundreds of mines, their equipment had degraded and accurate records of clearance had not been kept for some time.

HALO resumed mine clearance in Karabakh in 2000 with a view to reinforcing capacity through a project of re-equipment, providing additional training and by establishing a mine action centre (MAC). The MAC collates information concerning mines, UXO and safe routes, and disseminates it to all who require it, in particular other NGOs and international humanitarian bodies operating in Karabakh. [13] Mine clearance in Karabakh by the HALO Trust continues to the present day. According to the Landmine Monitor, in 2004 the HALO Trust cleared 3.6 square kilometers of affected land through manual and mechanical demining, and a further 450,000 square meters in 2005 through April. It concentrated clearance on farmland, and re-focused mine risk education on adults, in view of mine casualties rising as agricultural production increased. By the end of 2004, ICRC had provided safe play areas for children in 27 villages.

From 2000 to 2003, HALO cleared 2,691,097 m2 (665 acres) of affected land manually, cleared 45,414,190 m2 (11,222 acres) by battle area clearance, surveyed 7,767,500 m2 (1,919 acres), and destroyed 2,167 antipersonnel mines, 977 anti-vehicle mines and 8,710 items of UXO. [8]

In 2004, HALO cleared 3,580,289 square meters of affected land through manual and mechanical demining, destroying in the process 675 antipersonnel mines, 340 anti vehicle mines, 2,040 UXO, 2,352 items of stray ammunition and a large quantity of small arms ammunition. Types of land cleared were primarily agricultural (1,519,953 m2 (376 acres)), access routes (11,003,537 m2 (248 acres)), major infrastructure (139,415 m2 (34 acres)), community infrastructure (33,900 m2 (8.4 acres)) and other (883,484 m2 (218 acres)). This represents an increase on 2003, when HALO cleared 2,302,761 m2 (569 acres). [8] Also in 2004, the Engineering Service of the Army and the Department of Emergency Situations destroyed 48 antipersonnel landmines, 37 anti-vehicle land mines, 447 UXO and 5,141 items of small caliber explosive ordnance. [8]

As of 2011, most of the money to pay for HALO's Karabakh project came from the United States government. [14]

In 2015, a private family foundation based in the US pledged up to $4M in matched funding to aid an attempt to clear Karabakh by 2020. [15]

In March 2021 the ANAMA and the UNDP signed cooperation agreement to clear the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone from mines. This collaboration is not new; during the last 20 years, ANAMA and the UNDP have collaboratively destroyed over 800,000 mines and other explosive devices. [16] [17]

Reactions to the HALO Trust activities

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has been vehemently against the demining activities by the Halo Trust in disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Saying that it "perpetuates and encourages Armenian forces’ occupation of Azerbaijani territory." [18] In July 2011 Azerbaijani government blacklisted and banned the organization from Azerbaijan in protest for its mine clearing operation in disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. [19] Additionally Azerbaijan refused to agree to extend the mandate of the OSCE office in Yerevan unless the office ended its humanitarian demining-related activities. [20] US Minsk Group ex Co-chair Carey Cavanaugh in October 2017 commented regarding Azerbaijan's efforts to shut down the Halo Trust:

I remember when I was co-chair visiting the HALO Trust and looking at the great work they were doing with demining in this region. If Azerbaijan’s hope is all the land comes back to Azerbaijan, why would you want landmines in it? The day you get it back, you want no mines in it. The day whatever solution is brokered between the parties with the support of OSCE, you want no landmines in it. So why not cooperate on those civil steps to remove those?

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh

Representative of the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh on special assignments Boris Avagyan claimed that HALO Trust handed over minefield maps to Turkish special services, which, in his opinion, helped Azerbaijan’s successful military operations during the second Karabakh war in the fall of 2020. Ayvagyan claimed that under the pretext of studying dangerous areas, this organization carried out reconnaissance work throughout the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Opposition MP Naira Zohrabyan supported these claims. HALO Trust said the accusation was "an absolute lie". [21]

After 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

On June 4, 2021, 3 Azerbaijani civilians, including two journalists, died as a result of a mine explosion in the Kalbajar region. [22] On 12 June 2021, Armenia handed over minefield maps in the formerly occupied Agdam region to Azerbaijan in exchange for the extradition of 15 Armenian POWs, who were supposed to have been extradited many months ago per the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, who were detained in Azerbaijan despite calls from a number of countries and organizations for their release. [23] [24] [25] [26] The acting Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook on 13 June 2021. “We have handed over minefield maps but this is a tiny part of the maps that we have,” Pashinyan noted. [27] Pashinyan also stated that he is ready to hand over all the minefield maps to Azerbaijan in return for all the Armenian POWs, that are still being held in Azerbaijan in breach of the Point 9 of the ceasefire agreement and the Geneva converntion. [28] [29]

By June 2021, Azerbaijan reported seven of its soldiers, and twenty of its civilians had died in mine explosions since the conclusion of the 2020 war. [30]

British-made mine flail vehicles have been purchased and brought to the area to accelerate the demining of the area. [31]

On July 3, 2021 Azerbaijan handed over 15 detained Armenian soldiers in exchange for maps detailing the location of around 92,000 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in the formerly occupied Fizuli and Zangilan districts. Released soldiers were all from Shirak region in Armenia, detained after the ceasefire. [11] Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev claimed on 14 August 2021 that the accuracy of the maps provided by Armenia was only 25 percent. [32]

A statement released after 14 December 2021 trilateral meeting between Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan  and Charles Michel in Brussels stressed the importance of resolving key humanitarian issues, while stating that “all remaining mine-maps” had been handed over by Armenia. [33]

On November 23, 2020, due to a landmine explosion in Madagiz, four members of the Artsakh Emergency Ministry, and one Russian peacekeeper were injured. Additionally, one soldier of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces was killed. [34] In a separate incident on April 24, 2021, a vehicle of the Russian peacekeeping contingent struck an anti-tank mine, injuring two Russian peacekeepers moderately. [35] The 2022-2023 blockade of Artsakh has made it more difficult for HALO trust members to conduct their work. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HALO Trust</span> Non-government organisation founded 1988

The HALO Trust is a humanitarian non-government organisation which primarily works to clear landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflicts. With over 10,000 staff worldwide, HALO has operations in 28 countries. Its largest operation is in Afghanistan, where the organization continues to operate under the Taliban regime that took power in August 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unexploded ordnance</span> Explosives that have not fully detonated

Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs (UXBs), and explosive remnants of war are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results. A dud is an unexploded projectile fired in anger against an enemy, but which has failed to explode. A projectile not fired in anger but which has failed to explode is called a 'blind'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Artsakh</span> Former breakaway state in the South Caucasus

Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh controlled parts of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, including its capital Stepanakert. It had been an enclave within Azerbaijan from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, when the Azerbaijani military took control over the remaining territory controlled by Artsakh. Its only overland access route to Armenia after the 2020 war was via the 5 km (3.1 mi) wide Lachin corridor, which was placed under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demining</span> Process of removing land mines

Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of humanitarian demining is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land mines in Cambodia</span> Landmines in Cambodia

Cambodia is a country located in Southeast Asia that has a major problem with landmines, especially in rural areas. This is the legacy of three decades of war which has taken a severe toll on the Cambodians; it has some 40,000 + amputees, which is one of the highest rates in the world. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) estimates that there may be as many as four to six million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia. Some estimates, however, run as high as ten million mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagorno-Karabakh conflict</span> 1988–2024 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.

A mine clearance organization, or demining organization, is an organization involved in the removal of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons. Demining includes mine clearance, as well as surveying, mapping and marking of hazardous areas.

In 2004, Chechnya was the most land mine-affected region in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenia–Azerbaijan relations</span> Bilateral relations

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two neighboring states had formal governmental relations between 1918 and 1921, during their brief independence from the collapsed Russian Empire, as the First Republic of Armenia and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan; these relations existed from the period after the Russian Revolution until they were occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming the constituent republics of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. Due to the five wars waged by the countries in the past century—one from 1918 to 1921, another from 1988 to 1994, and the most recent in 2016, 2020 and 2023 —the two have had strained relations. In the wake of hostilities, social memory of Soviet-era cohabitation is widely repressed.

Naira Zohrabyan is an Armenian politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Armenia for the Prosperous Armenia party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Nagorno-Karabakh War</span> 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.

The casualties of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought between Armenia, the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, officially number in the low thousands. According to official figures released by the belligerents, Armenia and Artsakh lost 3,825 troops, with 187 servicemen missing in action, while Azerbaijan lost 2,906 troops, with 6 missing in action. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of 541 Syrian fighters or mercenaries fighting for Azerbaijan. However, it is believed that the sides downplayed the number of their own casualties and exaggerated the numbers of enemy casualties and injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh</span> Peacekeeping operations in a disputed region in the Caucasus

In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, peacekeeping operations were initiated by Russia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to monitor the ceasefire between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Separate from the Russian operation, Turkey also has personnel working in a joint Russian–Turkish monitoring centre.

During its existence, the Republic of Artsakh and the United States did not have official diplomatic relations as the United States was among the vast majority of countries that did not recognize Artsakh as a sovereign nation and instead recognized the region of Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, as part of Azerbaijan. Despite no formal relations, the Republic of Artsakh had a representative office in Washington, D.C. since November 1997. It is not known whether the office still functions after the apparent dissolution of Artsakh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis</span> Political and military crisis on the Armenia–Azerbaijan border

The military forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a border conflict since 12 May 2021, when Azerbaijani soldiers crossed several kilometers into Armenia in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik. Despite international calls for withdrawal from the European Parliament, the United States, and France, Azerbaijan has maintained its presence on Armenian soil, occupying at least 215 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of internationally recognized Armenian territory. This occupation follows a pattern of Azerbaijan provoking cross-border fights and instigating ceasefire violations when its government is unhappy with the pace of negotiations with Armenia.

The Susuzluq explosion was a mine explosion in the vicinity of the village of Susuzluq in Azerbaijan's Kalbajar region, which occurred on 4 June 2021. The explosion killed 3 people, two of them journalists, and wounded another 4. This is the first case of journalist death on Azerbaijani territory after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landmines in Ukraine</span>

Ukraine globally ranks as one of the states with the highest civilian casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnances, and the highest for anti-vehicle mine incidents. As of April 2023, it is estimated that approximately 174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory are contaminated by landmines. Many types of landmines have been found in use in Ukraine, including novel variants. Though landmines have been in use since 2014 in Ukraine during the War in Donbas (2014–2022), their use was relatively sporadic until the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Human Rights Watch, both Russian and Ukrainian government forces have utilized antipersonnel and anti-vehicle mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Armenian protests</span> Protests against the prime minister

The 2022 Armenian protests were a series of anti-government protests in Armenia that started on 5 April 2022. The protests continued into June 2022, and many protesters were detained by police in Yerevan. Protestors demanded Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan resign over his handling of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. On 14 June 2022, the opposition announced their decision to terminate daily demonstrations aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after failing to achieve popular support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masam Project</span> Landmine clearance project in Yemen

Project Masam is a multilateral humanitarian land mine clearance project in Yemen launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in June 2018.

Events of the year 2023 in Armenia.

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