Nearly 30 years after the end of the Balkan war, Bosnia-Herzegovina is finally free of undetonated cluster munitions, according to Norsk folkehjelp, which did a large part of the clearance.
During the eleven years that the clearing has been going on, 2,157 vagrants have been found, according to the head of the operation, Per Håkon Breivik. The country has signed a convention whose goal was to complete the clearing by September 1 this year.
“The historic event is a significant victory for the civilian population, and gives hope for a safer future for Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries that still suffer from the threat of cluster bombs,” says Breivik on the organization’s website.
During the Balkan wars of the 1990s, large quantities of cluster bombs were scattered across the country, and many explosive devices from them never detonated. They have mutilated hundreds of people since the end of the war, according to the organization.