During the operation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), engineering units of the Russian peacekeeping forces cleared 260 hectares of land, and the clearance of the northern outskirts of Stepanakert is nearing completion. This was reported on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Wednesday, December 23.
“During the operation, engineering units of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh cleared 260 hectares of terrain, about 100 kilometers of roads, 434 housing buildings. More than 8.6 thousand explosive objects were discovered and neutralized, ”the department noted.
Discovered explosive objects and unexploded ammunition are removed and destroyed at a specially equipped landfill. Any ammunition that cannot be evacuated is destroyed on site with appropriate security measures in place.
The day before, the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported that the pyrotechnics of the department’s detachment had cleared about 50 hectares of territories in Karabakh. About 8.3 thousand explosive objects were discovered. The main work took place in the village of Aygestan and its environs.
Particular attention was paid to roads, socially significant objects and territories that are adjacent to them.
On November 9, Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the mediation of Russia, signed an agreement, according to which hostilities would cease in NKR from November 10.
The document also provides for the introduction of Russian peacekeepers into the region, the exchange of prisoners between the parties to the conflict, the transfer of a number of regions by Yerevan to Baku and the return of refugees to Karabakh.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense as of December 22, since the end of hostilities in the NKR, about 43 thousand refugees have returned home, accompanied by patrols of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and military police.