LANDMINES AND CLUSTER BOMBS IN KOSOVO
Physicians for Human Rights
A team from PHR visited Kosovo to make an assessment on the impact of landmines and cluster
bombs on the civilian population. The results portray a picture of an immense problem that will take
many years to resolve.
Background - Landmines:
• Anti-personnel (AP) and anti-tank (AT) landmines were widely used by the Yugoslav Army and
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
• The Yugoslav Army has provided NATO forces with the coordinates to over 600 minefields.
• The KLA has reported clearing all mines placed by their forces, however, demining NGOs have
indicated that animals have been killed by landmines in some of these locations.
Background - Cluster Bombs:
• Unexploded NATO cluster bombs are as big or an even bigger threat to the local population as
these munitions are frequently unstable and can not be moved safely.
• US forces deployed BLU-97 munitions that are packaged as units of 202 bomblets. These are
yellow, about the size of a soda can with a small parachute attached to them.
• British forces deployed BL-755 munitions containing 147 bomblets. These are soda can shaped,
but do not have a parachute.
• UN Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) reported that NATO has given details of 335 cluster
bomb target sites and repoted the deployment of 1,400 cluster bombs.
• As each cluster bomb contains approximately 200 bomblets, an estimated 280,000 bomblets can
be calculated to have been dropped on Kosovo.
• Official NATO statistics record an approximate 10% failure rate for these bomblets, amounting to
at least 28,000 unexploded bomblets. Some sources estimate upwards of 30 or 40% failure rates.
Victim Statistics:
• The UN MACC has developed a surveillance system to document landmine and cluster bomb
incidents. A report was recently released which confirmed the findings of an earlier WHO report.
• 122 victims were reportedly involved in incidents during the period from mid June through July
1999.
• The majority of victims were male.
• 28% were under 15 years old, 67% were under 25 years old.
• 46% were passing by , 15% were tending animals and 10% were involved in military actions.
• The central region of Kosovo recorded the greatest number of incidents (44), with the town of
Glogovac reporting 22 cases.
Evidence Recorded by the PHR Team:
• In the village of Ariljaca (pop. 1000), near the Pristina airport, four separate cluster bomb incidents
were recorded by the PHR team. Three of these victims (ages 12,14 and 23) were killed. Three cows
have also been reportedly killed.
• Murat Sopjani, 22 year old male. On May 12 he suffered wounds to his right leg, calf and left arm.
He had been tending to his family’s cows and was running down a hill. He saw a bright colored object
(BLU 97) in a tree which he hit with a stick while passing by. He received first aid from the village nurse
and spent three weeks in the hospital.
• In the village of Ljubenic, near Pec, two people were killed and three injured while trying to move a
cluster bomb to destroy it.
• Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) deminers were actively clearing houses of mines and booby traps.
• Three victims in the Pec hospital were interviewed.
• Irena Gasa, 8 year old female injured July 27 in Gashi. She underwent an amputation of her left
1st and 2nd fingers and suffered multiple wounds to her body. She sustained her injury after seeing a
bright colored object in some bushes and trying to touch it.
• Hasan Ahmetaj, 31 year old male injured July 10 in Ljubenic. He underwent a right below knee
amputation. He was with a group trying to move a BLU 97 cluster bomb when it exploded. Two other
died and a total of three were wounded in this incident.
• Zymer Tahiraj, 48 year old male injured July 24 in Decani. He underwent a left below knee
amputation. While walking in a field, he triggered an explosive device. He arrived to the hospital in
shock and received two liters of blood. He was seen in the intensive care unit.
• In the village of Donji-Streoc, NATO cluster bombs initially killed seven people. Subsequently
there were no other injuries, although four unexploded BLU-97 bombets were discovered and detonated
by deminers from NPA.
• In the village of Ljubusa, unexploded NATO cluster bombs (BL-755) were found in a field. Three
were detonated by deminers from NPA.
• In the village of Ljubusa, the PHR team visited a house where a booby trap caused damage but
without any casualties.
• As of August 9th NPA had detonated 24 unexploded cluster bombs and removed 98 AP and AT
mines from fields and along road sides.
• In the village of Loda, 16 families (200 people) were living in a partially destroyed school as most
of the houses were destroyed or felt to be booby trapped. Large fields surrounding the village were
believed to be mined.
• In the village of Iznig, Mustaf Shala, 36 years old, returned to his village on June 22. He had
discovered trip wires and hand grenades that he reported to KFOR troops. On August 4, a survey team
from NPA responded to his request and found two hand grenades, trip wires to a large AP mine and
multiple smaller AP mines.
Hospitals Visited:
Pec:
Interviewed Dr. Isa Kalicanin, Sepcialist in Orthopaedics, his department has care for the majority of the
landmine and cluster bomb victims. He showed the PHR team the three victims currently in the hospital
and explained their injuries and hospital course. He reported that the hospital has 520 beds and has
cared for approximately 23 victims in the 6 weeks since the NATO bombing had stopped. The hospital
was in need of equipment and supplies for performing operations. At present no elective procedures
were being undertaken, however, MSF was supplying needed medicines.
Spoke with Dr. Sefo, General Surgery, Deputy Minister of Health he related the problems with lack of
proper equipment and supplies and the need by many of the staff for additional training. The medical
staff is currently working full shifts without salaries. Plans are underway for MSF to help provide a
general surgeon to assist with operations and provide training.
The PHR team provided mine awareness posters and injury surveillance forms and information to be
forwarded to the MACC.
Pristina:
Dr. Argon Pustina, Professor Orthopedic Surgery, showed the PHR team two landmine/cluster bomb
victims. He told the team that Pristina hospital currently receives referrals from all over Kosovo, but that
they are severely lacking in equipment and supplies. He and his staff were forced out of the medical
system in 1990. They now work without a salary. He stated that there are seven orthopedic surgeons
working in the hospital but that they do not have the appropriate supplies to do the proper operations.
There is also the problem of intermittent water and electricity.
Prizren:
The PHR team left mine awareness posters and injury surveillance forms for Dr. Gem Shukriu as a
possible contact person for community outreach. He is a general surgeon and heads the doctors club in
Prizren.
Djakova:
Spoke briefly with a general surgeon working in the hospital emergency. There had been a few cases of
landmine/cluster bomb victims. The PHR team reported this to the MACC and were assured by an NGO
physician that records would be examined.
Implications of Landmines and Cluster Bombs for Local Populations:
• Unexploded cluster bombs are a major concern and it is believed that they have a higher case
fatality rate than landmines.
• Mine awareness programs are being initiated in order to raise awareness to the danger of mines
and cluster bombs.
• Hospitals are lacking in supplies and equipment, and frequently water and electricity.
• Many fields are currently mined and can not be safely used for farming.
• As the cold weather approaches and people are forced to look for firewood, increased numbers of
incidents are expected.
• Many villages and houses are booby trapped and many local people are concerned for their
safety and are unable to begin the process of reconstruction. As colder weather approaches, a greater
problem is expected.
• There is fear that many schools are mined and operations by demining NGOs are underway to
clear these facilities so that children can begin school on September 1.
• Many wells in villages contain bodies of persons killed by Serb forces. These wells must be
cleared of mines and booby traps before the bodies can be removed.
• Safety while traveling on roads and paths in a concern for local populations, military forces and
humanitarian aid workers.
Recommendations:
• Call for a cessation of cluster bomb usage for all military operations.
• Call upon NATO forces to provide resources for the removal of all unexploded cluster bomb
munitions in Kosovo.
• Encourage the continued development of injury surveillance systems in hospitals and local
communities with centralized data analysis by the UN MACC.
• Encourage community outreach programs by physician organizations, the Mother Teresa Society,
NGOs and local organizations to provide mine awareness and first aid training.
• Encourage development of rehabilitative services for victims, including prosthetics, vocational
training and psychosocial support.
• Encourage continued demining efforts by NGOs to clear fields, schools, houses and roads.
.
Physicians for Human Rights
A team from PHR visited Kosovo to make an assessment on the impact of landmines and cluster
bombs on the civilian population. The results portray a picture of an immense problem that will take
many years to resolve.
Background - Landmines:
• Anti-personnel (AP) and anti-tank (AT) landmines were widely used by the Yugoslav Army and
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
• The Yugoslav Army has provided NATO forces with the coordinates to over 600 minefields.
• The KLA has reported clearing all mines placed by their forces, however, demining NGOs have
indicated that animals have been killed by landmines in some of these locations.
Background - Cluster Bombs:
• Unexploded NATO cluster bombs are as big or an even bigger threat to the local population as
these munitions are frequently unstable and can not be moved safely.
• US forces deployed BLU-97 munitions that are packaged as units of 202 bomblets. These are
yellow, about the size of a soda can with a small parachute attached to them.
• British forces deployed BL-755 munitions containing 147 bomblets. These are soda can shaped,
but do not have a parachute.
• UN Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) reported that NATO has given details of 335 cluster
bomb target sites and repoted the deployment of 1,400 cluster bombs.
• As each cluster bomb contains approximately 200 bomblets, an estimated 280,000 bomblets can
be calculated to have been dropped on Kosovo.
• Official NATO statistics record an approximate 10% failure rate for these bomblets, amounting to
at least 28,000 unexploded bomblets. Some sources estimate upwards of 30 or 40% failure rates.
Victim Statistics:
• The UN MACC has developed a surveillance system to document landmine and cluster bomb
incidents. A report was recently released which confirmed the findings of an earlier WHO report.
• 122 victims were reportedly involved in incidents during the period from mid June through July
1999.
• The majority of victims were male.
• 28% were under 15 years old, 67% were under 25 years old.
• 46% were passing by , 15% were tending animals and 10% were involved in military actions.
• The central region of Kosovo recorded the greatest number of incidents (44), with the town of
Glogovac reporting 22 cases.
Evidence Recorded by the PHR Team:
• In the village of Ariljaca (pop. 1000), near the Pristina airport, four separate cluster bomb incidents
were recorded by the PHR team. Three of these victims (ages 12,14 and 23) were killed. Three cows
have also been reportedly killed.
• Murat Sopjani, 22 year old male. On May 12 he suffered wounds to his right leg, calf and left arm.
He had been tending to his family’s cows and was running down a hill. He saw a bright colored object
(BLU 97) in a tree which he hit with a stick while passing by. He received first aid from the village nurse
and spent three weeks in the hospital.
• In the village of Ljubenic, near Pec, two people were killed and three injured while trying to move a
cluster bomb to destroy it.
• Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) deminers were actively clearing houses of mines and booby traps.
• Three victims in the Pec hospital were interviewed.
• Irena Gasa, 8 year old female injured July 27 in Gashi. She underwent an amputation of her left
1st and 2nd fingers and suffered multiple wounds to her body. She sustained her injury after seeing a
bright colored object in some bushes and trying to touch it.
• Hasan Ahmetaj, 31 year old male injured July 10 in Ljubenic. He underwent a right below knee
amputation. He was with a group trying to move a BLU 97 cluster bomb when it exploded. Two other
died and a total of three were wounded in this incident.
• Zymer Tahiraj, 48 year old male injured July 24 in Decani. He underwent a left below knee
amputation. While walking in a field, he triggered an explosive device. He arrived to the hospital in
shock and received two liters of blood. He was seen in the intensive care unit.
• In the village of Donji-Streoc, NATO cluster bombs initially killed seven people. Subsequently
there were no other injuries, although four unexploded BLU-97 bombets were discovered and detonated
by deminers from NPA.
• In the village of Ljubusa, unexploded NATO cluster bombs (BL-755) were found in a field. Three
were detonated by deminers from NPA.
• In the village of Ljubusa, the PHR team visited a house where a booby trap caused damage but
without any casualties.
• As of August 9th NPA had detonated 24 unexploded cluster bombs and removed 98 AP and AT
mines from fields and along road sides.
• In the village of Loda, 16 families (200 people) were living in a partially destroyed school as most
of the houses were destroyed or felt to be booby trapped. Large fields surrounding the village were
believed to be mined.
• In the village of Iznig, Mustaf Shala, 36 years old, returned to his village on June 22. He had
discovered trip wires and hand grenades that he reported to KFOR troops. On August 4, a survey team
from NPA responded to his request and found two hand grenades, trip wires to a large AP mine and
multiple smaller AP mines.
Hospitals Visited:
Pec:
Interviewed Dr. Isa Kalicanin, Sepcialist in Orthopaedics, his department has care for the majority of the
landmine and cluster bomb victims. He showed the PHR team the three victims currently in the hospital
and explained their injuries and hospital course. He reported that the hospital has 520 beds and has
cared for approximately 23 victims in the 6 weeks since the NATO bombing had stopped. The hospital
was in need of equipment and supplies for performing operations. At present no elective procedures
were being undertaken, however, MSF was supplying needed medicines.
Spoke with Dr. Sefo, General Surgery, Deputy Minister of Health he related the problems with lack of
proper equipment and supplies and the need by many of the staff for additional training. The medical
staff is currently working full shifts without salaries. Plans are underway for MSF to help provide a
general surgeon to assist with operations and provide training.
The PHR team provided mine awareness posters and injury surveillance forms and information to be
forwarded to the MACC.
Pristina:
Dr. Argon Pustina, Professor Orthopedic Surgery, showed the PHR team two landmine/cluster bomb
victims. He told the team that Pristina hospital currently receives referrals from all over Kosovo, but that
they are severely lacking in equipment and supplies. He and his staff were forced out of the medical
system in 1990. They now work without a salary. He stated that there are seven orthopedic surgeons
working in the hospital but that they do not have the appropriate supplies to do the proper operations.
There is also the problem of intermittent water and electricity.
Prizren:
The PHR team left mine awareness posters and injury surveillance forms for Dr. Gem Shukriu as a
possible contact person for community outreach. He is a general surgeon and heads the doctors club in
Prizren.
Djakova:
Spoke briefly with a general surgeon working in the hospital emergency. There had been a few cases of
landmine/cluster bomb victims. The PHR team reported this to the MACC and were assured by an NGO
physician that records would be examined.
Implications of Landmines and Cluster Bombs for Local Populations:
• Unexploded cluster bombs are a major concern and it is believed that they have a higher case
fatality rate than landmines.
• Mine awareness programs are being initiated in order to raise awareness to the danger of mines
and cluster bombs.
• Hospitals are lacking in supplies and equipment, and frequently water and electricity.
• Many fields are currently mined and can not be safely used for farming.
• As the cold weather approaches and people are forced to look for firewood, increased numbers of
incidents are expected.
• Many villages and houses are booby trapped and many local people are concerned for their
safety and are unable to begin the process of reconstruction. As colder weather approaches, a greater
problem is expected.
• There is fear that many schools are mined and operations by demining NGOs are underway to
clear these facilities so that children can begin school on September 1.
• Many wells in villages contain bodies of persons killed by Serb forces. These wells must be
cleared of mines and booby traps before the bodies can be removed.
• Safety while traveling on roads and paths in a concern for local populations, military forces and
humanitarian aid workers.
Recommendations:
• Call for a cessation of cluster bomb usage for all military operations.
• Call upon NATO forces to provide resources for the removal of all unexploded cluster bomb
munitions in Kosovo.
• Encourage the continued development of injury surveillance systems in hospitals and local
communities with centralized data analysis by the UN MACC.
• Encourage community outreach programs by physician organizations, the Mother Teresa Society,
NGOs and local organizations to provide mine awareness and first aid training.
• Encourage development of rehabilitative services for victims, including prosthetics, vocational
training and psychosocial support.
• Encourage continued demining efforts by NGOs to clear fields, schools, houses and roads.
.
Kosovo
Landmine and cluster Bomb Assessment Mission
Physicians for Human Rights
August 1999
Landmine and cluster Bomb Assessment Mission
Physicians for Human Rights
August 1999
