Afsanay Biaramova and her dog, Rocky, have been searching for buried mines in the former front lines of Azerbaijan that prevent displaced families from returning to abandoned villages. These areas, located around Karabakh, are known as one of the most mine-affected regions in the world.
History of the Conflict and Its Impacts
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which began with the collapse of the Soviet Union, has displaced hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their homes. After three decades, Azerbaijan successfully regained Karabakh and seven surrounding regions in military operations between 2020 and 2023, leading to the flight of over 100,000 ethnic Armenians from these areas.
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Clearing Efforts and Challenges
In the chaos of Abdurrahmanli, a former settlement in the Fuzuli region, nothing remains but its name. Tank holes and a concrete bunker are visible in the landscape. Rocky, a Belgian Malinois dog born in 2023 and brought from Croatia, indicates potential mine signs by sniffing and sitting in one spot. Biaramova states, "We consider any sign as a mine."
Biaramova is one of the few women in this traditionally male profession. Her family is from Zangilan, a region that Azerbaijan regained in the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020. She emphasizes, "I didn’t want to stand by and wanted to have a role in my country."
Jabir Samadov, the operations manager of the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA), announced that teams have cleared over 309,000 hectares since 2020 and neutralized about 69,000 mines and nearly 200,000 unexploded ordnance. Mine explosions since the 2020 war have resulted in 73 deaths and 370 injuries.
Every morning, dogs must find sample explosives in a test area before going to the minefields, and those that do not succeed in this test are sent back. In the field, another dog checks the approach to any suspicious mine, and only if the discovery is confirmed, the dog is rewarded with a ball.
For Biaramova, the reward is seeing houses being built on the land she has helped to clear. She recently returned to the Agdam region, where she helped clear three villages and where houses are now under construction. She says, "We are witnessing the rebuilding of settlements, the return of people, and agriculture. This makes us proud."
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