Casualties Overview

The Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (AzCBL) recorded 14 casualties from mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan (excluding Nagorno Karabakh); two people were killed (one civilians and one military personnel) and 12 were injured (six civilians and six military). All casualties were male. The mine/ERW casualties in 2016 occurred in nine incidents in the regions of Fizuli, Goranboy, Qazakh, Aghdam, Tovuz, Aghstafa, and Sumqayit city.[1]

The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) recorded four mine/ERW casualties for 2016; one person killed and three injured.[2]

The variation in past annual casualty figures reported by key actors is due to differing collection methodologies. ANAMA collects casualty data through a network of district representatives and from media reports. Only incidents that occur in mine/ERW hazard areas and can be verified are recorded in the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA). The AzCBL gathers information in affected districts (except the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) from its regional coordinators, civil and military hospitals, and rehabilitation centers, as well as from the local media.[3]

The total number of casualties from mines/ERW in Azerbaijan is unknown. From 1999 when it first started recording casualty data to the end of 2013, the AzCBL identified 451 casualties (100 killed; 338 injured; 13 unknown). According to the informal information available to the AzCBL, there have been some 3,000 mines/ERW casualties in Azerbaijan, including almost 500 people killed. Most of the mines/ERW casualties occurred in 1991–1994, during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[4]

ANAMA reported a total of 2,439 mine/ERW casualties (383 killed; 2,056 injured) in Azerbaijan from the early 1990s to the end of 2016.[5]