MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax) - More than 26,000 refugees have returned to Nagorno-Karabakh since the hostilities there ceased, including more than 800 in the past 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said.
"With the help of the Russian peacekeeping taskforce, 846 people have returned to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia over the past 24 hours. More than 26,000 refugees have returned to their previous places of residence," Konashenkov said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
The Russian peacekeepers have cleared more than five hectares of land and two kilometers of roads, neutralizing more than 100 explosive devices over the past day, he said.
"In total, engineer units in Nagorno-Karabakh have demined more than 34 hectares of land, almost 12 kilometers of roads, checked more than 110 houses and social infrastructure facilities, and detected and neutralized 1,077 explosive items," Konashenkov said.
The Russian peacekeeping contingent is also helping restore critical utility lines in the region. More than 2.5 kilometers of communications lines, 1.5 kilometers of gas pipeline, one kilometer of electrical transmission lines, and four electricity pylons and one electrical substation have been restored in Karabakh over the past 24 hours, he said.