After almost 30 years, the demining process in Croatia has been completed

In Croatia, the demining process has been completed after almost 30 years. Approximately 107,000 were removed. mines and explosive devices and 470 thousand unexploded ordnance that remained after the war of 1991-1995. 41 sappers died during the work.

– Croatia is a mine-free country, announced the Minister of Interior Davor Bozinovic. – After almost 30 years, we have completed demining in accordance with the Ottawa Convention. This is not only a technical success, but also a fulfilled moral obligation towards the victims and their families, he said.

He added that a demined Croatia means safer families, development of rural areas, new agricultural areas and stronger tourism.

– Modernization of the civil protection system includes a new legal framework and digital early warning systems – said the minister.

The Croatians reported that the frontier stretched for over a thousand kilometers, and after the Balkan war in the 1990s, every fifth inhabitant of this country lived in danger due to mine The most difficult ones to find were mines without any documentation.

Demining began immediately after the war and has cost approximately €1.2 billion over the last three decades. According to official data, 41 sappers and 208 residents lost their lives in minefields at that time.

The last such tragedy involving a sapper occurred at the end of 2016 – a 60-year-old man died near Zemunik, near Zadar, one of the largest cities in Croatia. In 2011, a 48-year-old man died; he died on the way to the hospital in the town of Vinkovci. In 2015, a 36-year-old sapper stepped on an anti-personnel mine and his leg had to be amputated.

As emphasized, “Caution, mines” signs are becoming a thing of the past. It was also noted that several dozen sapper robots were handed over to Ukraine.

Already last year, during the international symposium “Demining” in Cavtat in southern Croatia, it was announced that the state would provide greater support to Croatian companies engaged in demining on the foreign market.

“During the demining of Croatia, we improved the procedures and everything that was missing at the international level when we started. We have extensive knowledge, from the process of clearing the area of ​​mines, through various procedures, technical and other studies, to the education of the population,” Bożinović said then. (PAP)

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