Completion of mine and explosive clearance operations from terrorist remnants in the Handarat area, north of Aleppo

Group 13 of demining experts of the Armenian humanitarian mission, in cooperation with the relevant authorities, today completed the clearance work of the Handarat area, north of Aleppo, and it was officially handed over to the relevant authorities in Aleppo Governorate.

The head of the Armenian humanitarian mission, Arkady Donoyan, explained in a statement to journalists that the humanitarian mission “has cleared one and a half million square meters of land since it began its work in Aleppo, and removed more than a thousand unexploded objects, which were destroyed in cooperation with Russian friends and the relevant authorities in Aleppo and handed over to the Aleppo Governorate in preparation for the return of life to those areas.”

Donoyan added: “The cooperation between the Armenian humanitarian mission and the Aleppo Governorate is very close and takes place on a daily basis with the aim of clearing the areas included in the mission’s agenda.”

In turn, the head of the Russian Coordination Center in Aleppo, Colonel Vitalik Nikalich, spoke about the role of the center in coordinating and supervising the mission’s work since the beginning of its work, and “it is the result of cooperation between the center, the Aleppo Governorate, and the Armenian side, which crowns the mine clearance work with success,” noting that the three parties “are working to expand the cleared areas to include wider areas and other regions.”

The commander of the 13th demining division of the Armenian humanitarian mission, Karen Tatosyan, stated that the division worked to “clear 146 thousand square meters of land within a specific time frame, and the number of explosives discovered in the area amounted to ninety-three unexploded bombs and mines.”

Dr. Abdul Qader Dawalibi, a member of the Executive Office in Aleppo Governorate, also pointed out the combined efforts of the three parties to accelerate the process of restoring security and safety to the areas since the liberation of Aleppo, and the return of the displaced residents at the hands of armed terrorist gangs to their homes.

On May 25, the Armenian humanitarian mission completed the removal of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and explosive devices left behind by terrorist groups in the town of Al-Ziraa in the southern countryside of Aleppo, covering a total area estimated at 51,334 square meters.