By Vafa Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani public is honoring the memory of two journalists who died as a result of a mine explosion in the Kalbajar district liberated from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war in 2020, Trend reported on June 5.

State officials, ordinary citizens, representatives of the public are paying tribute to the memory of the dead journalists in outside the building of the Azerbaijani Television and Radio Broadcasting CJSC (AzTV).

AzTV cameraman Siraj Abishov, Azertag (AZERTAC) news agency correspondent Maharram Ibrahimov and repesentative of the Kalbajar region executive office Arif Aliyev were killed in a mine explosion in liberated Kalbajar region on June 4. Four more people received injuries of various degree.

Azerbaijan First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev, the Foreign Ministry, the Ombudsman Office and a number of local organizations and media bodies condemned the killing of journalists and civilians by Armenian-planted mines and urged the international community not to turn a blind eye to Armenia's ongoing war crimes against Azerbaijan.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry said that in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, Armenia deliberately and constantly plants mines on Azerbaijani territories, thereby being a major threat to the regional peace, security and cooperation. It added that Yerevan bears all the responsibilities for the civilian Azerbaijanis becoming the victims of mines while performing their duties. 

Armenia continues to refuse to provide maps of hundreds of thousands of mines it had planted on the Azerbaijani territories over three decades of occupation.

Azerbaijan has made numerous appeals to international organizations and lodged an intergovernmental complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over Armenia's refusal to provide maps of mines in the formerly occupied territories.

President Ilham Aliyev on April 20 said that Armenia’s refusal to provide mine maps amounts to another war crime committed by Yerevan. He also said that demining of the newly-liberated territories will be the first stage in the process to return Azerbaijani IDPs to their homes.