Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlserbia



Serbia <![CDATA[Serbia is contaminated with antipersonnel and antivehicle mines and also has extensive areas affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO), including (cluster) submunitions, large air-dropped bombs, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). The extent of mine contamination is relatively small, a legacy of the armed conflict associated with the break-up of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Minefields with a mixture of antipersonnel and antivehicle mines are located on the border with Croatia, in Jamena and Morovic villages in Sid municipality.

Serbia reported 6km2 of mine-affected areas in its Article 7 report submitted in 2004 but demining operations since then reduced the figure to 2.5 km2 by the end of 2007, and during the first five months of 2008 it fell further to 1.8km2. In June 2008, the affected area in Sid was said to contain 3,300 antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, half the amount reported in April 2007.

In addition, UXO from previous wars, mainly submunitions from NATO air strikes in 1999, remain a significant problem.

NATO air strikes in 1999 also scattered unexploded bombs across Serbia. At the June 2008 Standing Committee meetings in Geneva, Serbia stated that some 60 (930kg) air-dropped bombs and other large items of UXO in 43 locations were believed to be in the ground to a depth of 20m, as well as in the Danube and Sava rivers.

Serbia also has to deal with large quantities of naval mines and other items of UXO that were aboard German World War II-era war vessels which sank in the Danube river, in the vicinity of Prahovo, in 1994. The position of the sunken vessels and UXO was pinpointed in a general survey of the area conducted in 2006.

Mine/ERW contamination remaining in Serbia causes blockages to some pastures, gardens, orchards, woods, and agricultural land. Contamination is also found in rivers and irrigation channels. The presence of submunitions in some of the country’s ski resorts and national parks affects tourism, wildlife, and the environment.

In 2007, two new casualties were reported in Serbia: boys injured while collecting scrap metal at an unmarked military range in Pozarevac. One of the boys suffered traumatic amputation of both legs. While court reports identified the device as a small fuze, journalists were informed by the police that their investigation had determined that the device was an antipersonnel mine. No mine/ERW casualties were recorded in 2006, although mine/ERW casualties are likely to go unreported as there is no data collection mechanism. The last confirmed mine and submunition casualties were reported in 2005.

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