Azerbaijani civilian killed in Karabakh mine explosion

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

An Azerbaijani civilian was killed after a mine planted by Armenian forces exploded in Upper Karabakh region.

In a statement, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said the mine was exploded in the Talish village of Tartar district, which had been under Armenian occupation for three decades.

It was an anti-tank mine laid by Armenian soldiers during the occupation period, it added.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and ended with a Russian-brokered truce six weeks later.

Baku liberated several strategic cities, and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation during this time.

Before this, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar