The tractor driver was injured in a mine explosion in Azerbaijan.
In the Khojavend district, Iskander Ismailov was injured while driving a tractor that ran over an anti-tank mine.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the area of the former Karabakh conflict, security forces, sappers, and local residents are periodically blown up by mines. For instance, on October 8, in the Jebrail district, a local resident was blown up by an anti-personnel mine while grazing livestock. The father of the injured came to the area where his son was injured and also stepped on a mine. Both were hospitalized.
According to Azerbaijani authorities, taking into account these two incidents, the number of mine victims since the end of the 44-day Karabakh war in 2020 has reached 443 people.
Today, near the village of Gyrmyzy Bazar in the Khojavend district, a resident of the Bardin district, Iskander Ismailov, born in 1984, while driving a tractor, ran over an anti-tank mine. As a result of the explosion, Ismailov was injured, reports APA.
The Khojavend district prosecutor's office has begun an investigation into the incident, as noted in the publication.
In August 2026, in the former zone of the Karabakh conflict, particularly in the Khojavend district, cases of people being blown up by mines have increased. According to analysts, this is related to the expansion of agricultural and reconstruction works, the increasing number of returning residents, and the difficulties of demining the territories.
Resettlement in the Khojavend district is taking place against the backdrop of mine danger
Let us remind you, Gyrmyzy Bazar is the Azerbaijani name for the village of Krasny Bazar (Armenian toponym - Karmir Shuka), which belonged to the Martuni district of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Khojavend district (Armenian name Khojavenda - Martuni) has been controlled by the authorities of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since 1993. A number of settlements in the district came under Baku's control on November 7, 2020, during the 44-day war.
On February 20, 2026, the first groups of former internally displaced persons returned to the city of Khojavend. In April, 299 members of Azerbaijani families who had left during the Karabakh conflict returned to Khojavend, Gyrmyzy Bazar, and the village of Khanoba. The villages to which residents are returning have been completely cleared of mines, but dangerous zones remain outside the settlements, specialists noted.
In November 2023, shortly after the end of hostilities, Azerbaijani authorities announced plans to return up to 34,500 families (140,000 people) to the former zone of the Karabakh conflict by the end of 2026. Despite the construction of roads, energy facilities, and housing, the pace of resettlement is hindered by mine danger, lack of jobs, and unresolved land use issues, analysts noted in April 2026.
In October 2022, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that it would take 30 years to clear the territories in the former zone of the Karabakh conflict. He estimated the costs at 25 billion dollars. In May 2024, the European Union, which has allocated 10 million euros for demining in Azerbaijan since 2020, agreed to increase to 14 million euros the financial assistance for demining in the former zone of the Karabakh conflict.
On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan conducted large-scale military operations and took control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, after which a mass exodus of the Armenian population began. By October 7, 2023, 100,632 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh had arrived in Armenia, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians remained in the region. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "The Beginning and End of the Unrecognized Republic of Artsakh".