Mine/UXO Clearance

Impact Summaries

Community Impact of UXO Clearance in Kosovo

During the 1999 air war waged by NATO against the military forces of the former Republic of Yugoslavia in Kosovo, a large number of cluster bomb units and other munitions were employed. Due to the weather conditions at the time, an appreciable number of munitions mis- fired, resulting in a significant residual threat to the civilian population. These munitions comprised a significant part of the total “landmine” threat. This task order covered specifically the Multi National Brigade East Sector and contained many uncleared and unverified sites. Local communities in this sector had also seen an increase in incidents.

RONCO’s priority was to clear housing, cemeteries, power lines, woodlands (utilized for firewood cutting), irrigation canals, and agricultural areas. All tasks were designed exclusively to decrease the number of accidents from NATO cluster munitions in Kosovo and enhance the economic recovery of the region. As a direct result of this task order, 537 lethal munitions, in approximately 1.9 million square meters of land, were cleared making 11 villages munition free.

Unexploded Ordnance

In the one-year period from June 1999 to June 2000, there were at least 472 casualties. The fact that 394 of the casualties were male meant that hundreds of families were devastated as they lost their main provider. The treatment of munition victims was also placing a severe strain on the undersupplied and fragile healthcare system of the sector. The few medical supplies available were being used to treat munitions related injuries instead of healing and preventing the high percentage of communicable and other diseases debilitating the sector.

Many of the Kosovars displaced from this sector during the conflict desperately wanted to return to their homes but were still unable as munitions were located in or around them. This was creating horrendous living conditions for those crammed in what shelter they could find, but it also created an environment of frustration, anger, and blame, which was simmering to the point of open conflict.

The program for economic reconstruction has also been seriously impeded by the presence of the lethal munitions in the sector. Many activities, including the planting of cropland, restoration of water supplies, and resumption of the logging industry, remained affected. The amount of mine-infested cropland was so large that staple items once abundantly grown in Kosovo were almost non-existent. This coupled with the lack of employment opportunities made the situation extremely dire for the people.

After the clearance operations, the environment is vastly different as farmers have returned to their fields to support their family and meet the needs of the villages. The lethal ordinance taken out of the town centers and industrial areas have allowed stores and businesses to reopen, which has invigorated the local economy, provided employment, and given people access to needed consumer goods. Although the region still has a long way to go, the removal of the munitions was a necessary first step in the path of post conflict recovery.