Mine blast kills 2 Azerbaijani family members


BAKU, Azerbaijan

A mine explosion in the recently liberated Upper Karabakh region killed two members of an Azerbaijani family and injured three others, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The mine was planted in Aghdam by Armenian troops during their nearly three-decade occupation.

A child of one of the deceased survived the explosion unscathed, said the statement by Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

The prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident.

A total of 12 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed, while 14 others wounded in mine explosions since a truce was reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia last November.

Liberation of Karabakh

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

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade-long occupation during the 44-day conflict.

Despite a Nov. 10 deal ending the conflict, the Armenian army several times violated the agreement and martyred several Azerbaijani soldiers and a civilian, as well as wounded several others, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

*Writing by Merve Berker