Bosnia and Herzegovina

Casualties

Last updated: 16 June 2017

Casualties Overview[1]

All known casualties by end 2016

8,371 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties since beginning of 1992

1,751 mine/ERW casualties, including 610 people killed, since beginning of 1996

Casualties occurring in 2016

12 (2015: 2)

2016 casualties by survival outcome

6 killed; 6 injured (2015: 1 killed; 1 injured)

2016 casualties by device type

10 antipersonnel landmines; 1 unexploded submunition and 1 ERW

 

Details and trends

In 2016 in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 12 casualties resulted from five civilian mine/ERW incidents and two demining accidents. All casualties were male.

Of the total, eight casualties (four people were killed and four injured) were civilians. Seven were adults and one was a child.

Due to the demining accidents, two clearance personnel were killed and two injured. One accident was caused by an antipersonnel mine and one by anERW.[2]

The 2016 casualty total represents a significant increase from the two casualties reported by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center (BHMAC) for 2015. In 2015, two male casualties were reported as a result of one incident with an antipersonnel mine. One adult was killed, and one civilian, of unknown age, was injured.[3]

For the period 1992–2016, BHMAC recorded a total of 8,379 mine/ERW casualties. Of these, 6,354 casualties occurred from incidents during the war period, 1992–1995. In the post-war period, the number of casualties was 1,751, out of which 612 were killed. For 274 casualties, the year of incident is not known.[4] The total number of demining casualties was reported to be 127, of which 51 were killed.[5]

Cluster munition casualties

One casualty as the result of an unexploded cluster submunition of the KB-1 type was reported in 2016.[6] No new cluster munition casualties were reported in 2015.

For 2016 BiH reported having identified 232 cluster munition casualties, of which 43 were killed.[7]  BiH also reported 226 cluster munition casualties, of which 45 were killed and 181 injured for 2016. BiH reported that information on these casualties was not complete, but noted that five were deminers.[8] In each case it was not reported how many of these casualties were included in the general BHMAC mine/ERW casualty database  nor was it specified if these casualties included casualties from attacks.[9] At least 86 casualties during cluster munition strikes in 1995 were identified in BiH.[10] These 86 casualties have been subtracted from the higher 232-total, pending clarification on how many casualties occurred due to cluster munition attacks in contrast to unexploded submunitions.



[1] Unless otherwise noted, data is from Monitor analysis of casualty data provided by email from BHMAC, 23 March 2017; and BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, BiH Demining Commission, BHMAC, “Report on Mine Acton in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016,” p. 6. According to the 2016 annual report, four civilian casualties were caused by antipersonnel mines, one by a submunition, and three by an unknown device. This differed from data provided by BHMAC, which recorded seven civilian casualties caused by antipersonnel mines and one by an unexploded submunition. The Monitor included the data provided directly by BHMAC in its global casualty data for 2016.

[2] Interview with Tarik Serak, Head, Department for Mine Action Management, BHMAC, and Saša Obradovič, Acting Director, BHMAC, Geneva, 9 February 2017; and email from BHMAC, 23 March 2017.

[3] Email from BHMAC, 23 March 2017. This is an update of information provided in 2016, where only one casualty was reported.

[4] “Report on Mine Acton in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016,” BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, BiH Demining Commission, BHMAC, p. 6.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Interview with Tarik Serak, BHMAC, and Saša Obradovič, BHMAC, Geneva, 9 February 2017; email from BHMAC, 23 March 2017; and “Report on Mine Acton in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016,” BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, BiH Demining Commission, BHMAC, p. 6.

[7] “Report on Mine Acton in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016,” BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, BiH Demining Commission, BHMAC, p. 6.

[8] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form H (for calendar year 2016).

[9] “Report on Mine Acton in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2016,” BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, BiH Demining Commission, BHMAC, p. 6.

[10] Handicap International (HI), Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 60. Some 60 more casualties were reported during an aerial strike in which cluster munitions were used along with other weapons.