"By early 2026 the remaining 250 square kilometers of land believed to be infested with landmines left over from the 1991-95 Homeland War will be cleared," Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, said on Tuesday.

Bozinovic had commented on the plan to clear all leftover landmines in Croatia at a ceremony in the town of Josipdol, where he “presented a 241 million kuna (€32 million) project called Karlovac KARST, for the removal of mines from forests in the areas of Karlovac and Josipdol,” state agency Hina reported.

Karlovac County Prefect and Bozinovic’s party colleague, Martina Furdek-Hajdin, said that 188 million kuna (€25 million) had been absorbed from the European Union for the project.

“In the next few years, 17.1 square kilometers of forest areas in the municipalities of Tounj, Josipdol, Plaski, Saborsko, and Rakovica will be cleared of landmines,” she added.

Furdek-Hajdin added that Karlovac County had already tapped 29 million kuna (€3.8 million) of EU funding to remove landmines from 3.8 square kilometres of mine-infested farmland.