Azerbaijan: EU-funded project graduates newly-trained female deminers

Eighteen newly-trained female sappers have received accreditation certificates after a six-week demining course in Azerbaijan, supported by the European Union.

The award ceremony was held in Baku with the participation of high-ranking officials from the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA), the European Union, UNDP and other officials. 

Through theoretical and practical training conducted by international experts from the Mine Advisory Group (MAG), the teams of female deminers acquired basic knowledge and the necessary skills to recognise, detect and mark mines and unexploded ordnance, as well as first aid. 

As result, two demining teams of 24 people, including deminers and medical officers, were accredited. In addition, the project trained 12 demining rats and 8 demining dogs. 

The training of the first ever female demining teams was organised within the framework of the EU-funded project ‘Supporting the Safe Return of Internally Displaced Persons through Capacity Building’, implemented by ANAMA, UNDP, International Eurasia Press Foundation (IEPF), and MAG.