UN official: Nearly 400 people hit by mines near Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994

2005-12-25
China Daily

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) _ More than 100 people have been killed by land mines near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and nearly 300 people have been injured by the explosives since a truce more than a decade ago, an official with the United Nations Development Program said Saturday.

Armen Grigorian, who heads an anti-mine program for the UNDP in Armenia, said a total of 123 people have been killed by land mine explosions around the enclave and 271 have been wounded since the 1994 truce ended a six-year conflict between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijan forces over the enclave.

Grigorian said the number of victims had dropped substantially over the last two years thanks to the UNDP de-mining program, which is funded by the United States and the European Union.

Large-scale fighting ended with the 1994 truce, but tensions remain high and sporadic shooting still breaks out along the so-called line of control separating the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.

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