Achaghi Abdurrahmanli (Azerbaijan) (AFP) – Afsana Bayramova and her sniffer dog, Rocky, search the earth for explosives preventing displaced families from returning to their villages on the former Azerbaijani front line, abandoned during the long conflict with Armenia.
Published on: 10/11/2026 - 09:30
The soils of Karabakh, a region under the control of pro-Armenian separatists for years, are among the most heavily contaminated in the world by land mines, according to Azerbaijan.
War broke out with the fall of the Soviet Union. Armenia then seized the region, displacing hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis.
Baku regained control of Karabakh and seven surrounding regions during offensives between 2020 and 2023, triggering the exodus of more than 100,000 inhabitants of Armenian origin.
Of Achaghi Abdurrahmanli, a small town on the front in the district of Fouzouli, all that remains is a sign bearing his name, trenches traced by tanks across the plain and a worn concrete bunker overlooking the minefield.
When Rocky thinks he has found an explosive, he points out the location by sniffing insistently, waving his tail, then sitting down, staring, Ms. Bayramova told AFP.
“Heavily contaminated”
For this specialist, one of the few women in a traditionally male profession, the greatest reward is seeing houses come back to life on the land she helped clean with her dog, a Belgian Malinois.
“I didn’t want to stand aside,” she says to explain her career choice. “I also wanted to contribute, for my country.”
His family is from Zangilan, a district retaken by Azerbaijan after a 44-day war with Armenia in 2020.
The Azerbaijani mine clearance agency, ANAMA, has cleared more than 309,000 hectares since 2020, neutralizing some 69,000 mines and nearly 200,000 unexploded ordnance, indicates Djabir Samadov, operations manager.
Since the 2020 war, 73 people have died and 370 have been injured by mines, according to Azerbaijani authorities.
Along the former Armenian defense positions, the ground is littered with mines, but also with unexploded ordnance from bombing by Azerbaijan.
The Achaghi Abdurrahmanli area is “heavily contaminated,” says Mr. Samadov.
Each morning before entering the minefield, the dogs must find a sample of explosive in a test area. Those who fail do not go on a mission.
In the field, their trainers hold them on a long leash to let them explore as they wish. When a potential explosive is detected, a second dog checks the approach before the deminer begins his intervention.
Dogs are rewarded if the presence of an explosive is confirmed.
In summer, the animals are confronted with the heat and the burning ground: the temperature can exceed 40°C in the plains of Azerbaijan.
Illnesses and injuries can also keep dogs away from operations. When they retire, they are often adopted by their trainers.
“Nothing left”
Assif Ahmadov fled the conflict in 1992. But he lost his brother, and a leg, four days after the fighting ended in 2020.
“We had been grazing our herds there since childhood, we knew these places very well,” he says.
One day, Mr. Ahmadov turns around and hears an explosion.
He sees that his brother's leg has been blown off and rushes to apply a tourniquet when the explosion of a second mine propels him into the air.
When he regained consciousness, his brother was dead, his left leg was lost and his right was severely injured.
"After that, I didn't move. I knew that a second mistake would mean my death," he recalls.
His father rescued him from the minefield and he spent three months in hospital.
He never went near the place again.
“There is nothing left of my old life,” he confided to AFP.
Like other mine victims, he became a volunteer with ANAMA to warn villagers and children of the danger.
Ms. Bayramova recently returned to one of the districts where she helped clear three villages.
“We are seeing communities rebuild, people returning, agricultural activity resuming.”
“It makes us proud,” she said.
© 2026 AFP
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