On 18th October 2017 the EUFOR Chief of Staff, Brigadier General József Szpisják, visited the AFBiH Mine Action and EOD Training Center in Rajlovac. The Chief of Staff was given a short presentation by Lieutenant Colonel Miljan Jankovic, the Commander of the Training Center, which outlined the main tasks and capabilities of the center, which was established in 2016.
Currently, BIH is the 8th most mine polluted country in the world and number one in Europe. There are still 79.000 mines in BiH covering an area of 1080 km2 size territory. During 2017 there have been 5 mine incidents in BiH 3 involving people. These incidents have resulted in 2 deaths and 3 injuries. Since the end of the war there has been 600 fatal mine accident all together, of which 1 in 7 deaths has been of a child.
Brigadier General József Szpisják stressed that due to the fact that there are still a large number of mines and Explosive Remnants of War existing in BIH, Mine Action is one of the most important issues for a safe and secure environment to allow a normal and prosperous life of all BIH citizens. He underlined that the AFBIH contribution to reach this goal of clearing mines from the country is extremely important. At the same time EUFOR will continue to support AFBIH Mine Action and EOD Training Center and contribute to the AFBiH Mine Action capabilities.
Chief of Staff EUFOR stated that: "BIH citizens can be proud of those 300 AF BIH demining soldiers who risk their lives every day to provide a safe environment for them".
