On the plateau in front of the building of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo today, on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Action, a distribution of promotional material will be organized, an exhibition of mines and explosive devices will be set up, and a demonstration exercise and simulation of work in a minefield will be held.
The goal of this event is to familiarize citizens with the appearance of mines and explosive devices, and to adopt the correct way of reacting in dangerous situations, announced the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center /BHMAK/, which is the organizer of today’s activities.
BHMAK warns that the suspected dangerous area for mines currently amounts to 822.87 square kilometers or 1.60 percent of the total area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that locations contaminated with mines directly affect the safety of about 540,000 citizens or about 15 percent of the total population.
The most polluted areas are Maglaj, Velika Kladuša, Orašje, Posavina, the Tuzla and Doboj regions, as well as Brod, Šamac and Lopar.
Since the beginning of mine action in BiH in 1996, an area of 3,377 square kilometers has been cleared.
“Statistics show that the largest number of accidents occur in spring and autumn, and we once again draw attention to the fact that it is most important not to risk your lives and not to enter unknown areas,” the BHMAK statement states.
According to estimates, around 170,000 mines and other explosive ordnance left over from the war have not yet been found, and each mine removed is at least one life saved.
The statement recalls that the BiH Mine Action Center launched a mobile application five years ago with the aim of warning about the presence of mines, which is available to all interested parties via the “Apple Store” and “Google Play” applications.
