Nagorno-Karabakh
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties Overview
|
All known casualties by end 2013 |
At least 342 mine/ERW casualties (74 killed; 268 injured) |
|
Casualties in 2013 |
3 (2012: 5) |
|
2013 casualties by outcome |
3 injured (2012: 5 injured) |
|
2013 casualties by device type |
2 antivehicle mine; 1 ERW |
HALO Trust reported three casualties in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2013. All casualties were male; one was a boy.[1] HALO reported five casualties in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2012.[2]
HALO collected information on 342 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW casualties (of which 74 people were killed) in 260 incidents in Nagorno-Karabakh between 1995 and the end of 2013. Over a quarter of the total recorded casualties (90) were children, mostly boys. Most casualties were civilians; 37 were military and another nine were deminers. After 2002, antivehicle mines caused the majority of annual mine/ERW incidents.[3]
In 2013, the ICRC visited and collected data of mine/ERW victims. The data contains information on the accident, casualties, and health, social, psychological, and economic needs of 615 “victims” who were directly visited by the ICRC staff.[4]
Cluster munition casualties
Unexploded submunitions caused at least 16 casualties between 1995 and 2013.[5]
Victim Assistance
In Nagorno-Karabakh, at least 268 people have been injured by mines and ERW, including cluster munition remnants, in addition to an unknown number of war veterans injured by mines during the conflict.[6] There is no specific victim assistance coordination body, plan, or focal point. Mine/ERW survivors received the same services as other persons with disabilities.[7] The ministry of social welfare is responsible for coordinating and providing prosthetic, psychosocial, and employment services for persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors.[8]
In 2013, the ICRC directly supported income-generating projects for 124 mine/ERW victims.[9] Grants enabled 42 households (about 200 people) to boost their livelihoods and self-sufficiency. Five families improved their living conditions through home repairs. Some 290 elderly or disabled people and their families (815 people in total) benefited from three distributions of food parcels and hygiene kits.[10]
[1] Email from Andrew Moore, Caucasus & Balkans Desk Officer, HALO, 8 July 2014.
[2] Ibid., 25 June 2013.
[3] Ibid., 8 July 2014, 25 June 2013, 6 April 2011, and 25 February 2010; from Nick Smart, HALO, 10 April 2012; from Matthew Hovell, Caucasus and Balkans Desk Officer, HALO, 8 July 2009; and from Valon Kumnova, Program Manager, HALO, 6 April 2007.
[4] It was not known if victims surveyed included the family members of people killed by mines and ERW. Email from Herbi Elmazi, Regional Weapon Contamination Advisor, Regional Delegation for the Russian Federation, ICRC, 25 July 2014.
[5] Emails from Nick Smart, HALO, 10 April 2012; from Andrew Moore, HALO, 25 February 2010, and 6 April 2011; from Matthew Hovell, HALO, 8 July 2009; and from Valon Kumnova, HALO, 6 April 2007.
[6] Based on data provided in emails from HALO (see footnote 3); and email from Andrew Moore, HALO, 25 June 2013.
[7] ICBL-CMC, “Area Profile: Nagorno-Karabakh,” 21 July 2010.
[8] Government of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, “Statute of the Ministry of Social Welfare.”
[9] Email from Herbi Elmazi, ICRC, 25 July 2014.
[10] ICRC, “Annual Report 2013,” Geneva, May 2014, p. 369.