In this TV reportage, we follow two deminers, Armin and Marko, and showcase the invaluable efforts and work carried out by the members of the Demining Battalion of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AF BiH), as well as EUFOR and the European Union, which recently donated demining equipment worth 10 million euros.
Furthermore, we are exploring the significant benefits that the local population derives from these crucial demining activities, with the ultimate goal of freeing Bosnia and Herzegovina from mines and other explosive remnants of war.
The mine-suspected area in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 956.36 square kilometers or 1.96 percent of the territory, and demining organizations are currently implementing the “Via Majevica” project in five municipalities, two of which are in the Republika Srpska and three in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Bojan Klepić, head of the Banja Luka Office of the Center for Demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Klepić stated that the mine-suspected area in Republika Srpska is 166.70 square kilometers, and currently work is being done on nine areas with a size of 10.44 square kilometers.
“Local communities in the Republika Srpska with the largest mine-suspected area are Teslić 22.93 square kilometers, Doboj, 18.49, Kotor Varoš 11.19, Kalinovik 15.88, Rogatica 9.96 and Trebinje 8.09 square kilometers,” specified Klepić.
He said that in the area of the city of Banja Luka, the mine-suspected area is 0.80 square kilometers, and demining has been completed at the Hum jedan location in Trebinje, where the construction of the airport is planned.
Klepić reminded that last year 10 locations with an area of 12.33 square kilometers were demined, and that the municipality of Šamac was completely demined.
“Unfortunately, even though we are intensively conducting anti-mine activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we still have victims. I would like to remind you that in the Republika Srpska, after the end of the war, 598 people died from mines,” said Klepić.
He called on all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina to additionally get involved in solving the problem and allocate funds for demining, as well as the media to inform the public more often about the danger of mines.
Klepić emphasized that analyzes of mine accidents determined that the highest number of victims was in early autumn and late spring when agricultural works are current.
He recalled that after the war, 1,735 people died from landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
