Azerbaijan asks ICJ to order Armenia to help demine occupied territories

PanARMENIAN.Net - The World Court said on Thursday, January 5 that Azerbaijan had asked it to order neighboring Armenia to "stop planting landmines" in Nagorno-Karabakh and to hand over information about the location of mines, booby-traps and other explosives, Reuters reports.

In its request for provisional measures in a case that has lasted years, Azerbaijan said "new evidence" had emerged that Armenia allegedly continued to lay landmines in "civilian zones to which displaced Azerbaijanis are slated to return".

In a statement, the court said Azerbaijan had asked it to order Armenia to take all necessary steps for the safe demining of towns and to "immediately cease to plant or to support the planting of landmines and booby-traps".

In late December, Armenia asked the ICJ to order Azerbaijan to cease the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and ensure the uninterrupted free movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Corridor.

The World Court in The Hague, formally known as the International Court of Justice, is the UN court for resolving disputes between countries.

For 25 days now, the key road has been blocked by Azerbaijanis who claim to be environmentalists. Azerbaijan had also deprived the people of Karabakh of gas supplies.