by Blerta Dalloshi Berisha
117 victims from mines after the end of the war
On April 24, 1999, five children from the Koxha family in the municipality of Kaçanik lost their lives near their neighborhood after entering a mined area planted by Serbian paramilitary forces.
The eldest was 15 years old, while the youngest was just three. The father of Edon, Bekim Koxha, recalls how he was unable to attend his three-year-old son’s funeral, as he was serving in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
“I received the news that an explosion had occurred in the Koxha neighborhood. I was operating in the Zhark area, in the village of Biçec. I was a soldier of the KLA. When I received the information, I immediately set out. The road that leads to my home passes by the cemetery here. I immediately knew something had happened. I saw that five children had been buried, among them my son. When I arrived home, I learned that mines had been placed there and that the children had entered a mined area,” Koxha said.
After the end of the war, Serbian forces left behind many mined areas, including in this municipality.
Just 30 kilometers from Kaçanik, in the Hani i Elezit area near the border with North Macedonia, Hamdi Lika, who leads the demining team of the mine and battlefield clearance organization The HALO Trust, is overseeing the tireless work of deminers in an area that is still contaminated with mines.
He told TV Klan that two people have lost their lives in this area, one in 2000 and another in 2006.
So far, 7,138 m² have been cleared in this zone.
“The total area of this field is around 7,883 square meters, while 7,138 square meters have been cleared. In addition, as an extension due to newly discovered mines—which can also be seen in the photo —an additional 13,313 square meters have been added. So far, eight PMA-2 mines and two MPR-2A mines have been found in this area,” said Demining Team Commander Hamdi Lika. The clearance of this area is expected to be completed on September 2 of this year.
In June 1999, immediately after the war, 4,520 hazardous areas were identified, according to the Ministry of Defense.
“By demining teams from various organizations and the Kosovo Security Force, 66 million square meters have been cleared so far, and more than 96,000 mines and other explosive devices have been destroyed,” said Colonel Ahmet Sallova, Director of the Coordination Center for Demining at the Ministry of Defense.
Currently, there are 51 remaining hazardous areas, mostly located in mountainous and border regions.
The number of people who have lost their lives exceeds 100, while the number of injured is four times higher.
Since the post-war period, 117 people have been killed by explosive devices in mined areas, while 469 others have been injured.
It is expected that by 2030, the entire territory of Kosovo will be cleared of mines and other explosive devices left by Serbian forces during the last war in Kosovo.
Full link of the article and video reporting in Albanian:
https://tvklan.al/minat-vazhdojne-te-marrin-jete-ne-kosove
This article/video is a product of the Academy on Reporting on Dealing with the Past (DwP) and Conflict-Sensitive Journalism, implemented by the Pro Peace Program in Kosovo and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK). The views expressed in this article are the responsibility of the journalist and do not in any way reflect the views of Pro Peace and AGK.
