Azerbaijani officials have green-lighted the resumption of operations at a controversial gold mine following a more than year-long hiatus due to public protests over pollution concerns. Trouble at the mine near the village of Soyudlu in western Azerbaijan’s Gadabay District began in mid-2023, when its operator, Anglo Asian Mining, sought to build a second artificial lake to handle mine tailings. The announcement at that time provoked a fierce backlash from local residents. Security forces, in turn, used force to quash protests, including…