Some 405 square kilometres of land in Croatia is still contaminated with unexploded ordnance left over from the 1991-1995 war of independence, and the country is expected to be cleared of mines by 2026, Croatian Mine Action Centre (HCR) said on Wednesday, at an event marking the International Mine Awareness Day.

HCR director Zdravko Modrušan said that about 600 square kilometres of land had been cleared of mines to date. He recalled that the government had requested an extension of the application of the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of landmines for another seven years, so that Croatia would be free of mines by 2026.

Modrušan said that this deadline could be met, provided that mine removal operations were supported by EU funding. He cited the €35 million Naturavita environment protection project in the Osijek-Baranja County, which is EU-financed, and includes the removal of all remaining land mines from the Kopački Rit nature park and the Mura-Drava regional park.

Modrušan said 595 people had been injured by mines left over after the 1991-95 war, of whom 203 fatally. He added that no mine-related incidents had been reported last year, and no children had been injured since 2004.

Velimir Žunac, senior official at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, said that the EU was one of the biggest donors for mine removal operations in Croatia, having granted about 46 million euros for that purpose in the last 20 years.