Vuk TesijaOsijekBIRNFebruary 10, 202317:56Lawmakers in the Croatian parliament backed the proposed National Mine Action Programme, which is intended to see the country completely cleared of landmines from the 1990s war by March 2026.
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A mine hazard warning sign in Croatia. Photo: MUP RCZ.
There are still around 170 square kilometres of Croatian territory suspected to be contaminated with mines, and the goal is to completely clear the country by the start of March 2026 at the latest, the state secretary at the Interior Ministry, Zarko Katic, told the Croatian parliament on Friday.
“There’s still a great deal of work ahead of us but I’m sure that we can manage to do it,” said Katic.
About 4.7 per cent of the population of Croatia is still exposed to the risk of landmines, particularly in Lika-Senj, Sisak-Moslavina, Split-Dalmatia and Karlovac counties, Katic said. Most of the affected places are mountainous or forest areas.
Presenting the proposal for the National Mine Action Programme to parliament for the years up to 2026, Katic warned that the danger of mine blasts still exists and appealed to mountaineers, hunters and hikers to respect mine hazard signs and not enter dangerous areas.
Since 1996, a total of 204 people have been killed by mines in the country, including 38 deminers.
From 1998 to 2022, a total of one billion euros was spent on demining, and by 2026, another 240 million euros needed – 80 million euros per year, Katic explained.
The proposed National Programme includes maintaining warning signs in suspected mine-affected areas, informing and educating the population in those areas about the dangers, providing care and rehabilitation to victims, and encouraging the export of Croatian expertise in mine action.
In Croatia, there are currently 40 companies licenced for demining work, with 397 deminers, about 100 dogs and about 40 mine detection machines.
MPs said they supported the plan to complete the demining. But Katarina Peovic from the Workers Front objected that the proposed programme does not say what will happen to the deminers after their work in Croatia is complete.
Peovic told parliament that it was important to make a plan for the deminers’ future as soon as possible and to “retain their knowledge”.
Davorko Vidovic of the Social Democrats also said that it would be a shame if Croatia’s demining expertise is not shared with countries that have problems with unexploded ordnance.
Katic said that cooperation with Ukraine is already planned and that after the demining of Croatia is complete, the deminers will use their knowledge to help the former Soviet state.
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