The Croatian Mine Action Centre and the "Kozmo" drugstore retailer on Tuesday marked the completion of a humanitarian drive during which HRK 152,000 was raised for the removal of land-mines from the village of Bazdarici in the hinterland of the Adriatic city of Zadar.
This sum was doubled by donations of the U.S. Administration and the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF), which was established by the Slovenian government in 1998.
During the donation delivery ceremony, the head of the Croatian government's office for demining, Dijana Plestina, expressed satisfaction with the results of the humanitarian campaign.
The village of Bazdarici is part of the municipality of Novigrad in which mines are currently being removed from several locations, the total surface of which is 357,000 square metres, and the Croatian government has earmarked HRK 4.4 million for that purpose. The mines were left over from the 1991-1995 Homeland Defence War.
Zadar County ranks fifth on the list of Croatian counties according to mine contamination.
The plan is to clear the entire Croatia of mines by 2019, the Croatian Mine Action Centre acting director, Miljenko Vahtaric, said.
"There are still 683 square kilometres of Croatian land infested with mines. The mine-suspected areas are scattered in 101 cities, towns and municipalities in 12 counties. Currently, the most intensive demining activities are in southern counties, including Zadar and Sibenik counties," Vahtaric said.
Since 1991, 98 Croatians have died in blasts in mine-infested areas and 157 have sustained serious injuries, he added.
