ENVIRONMENT-SERBIA: The Bombs Still Waiting to Explode

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic Reprint | | Print |

Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE, Apr 8 2003 (IPS) - As the bombardment of Iraq continues into the third week, Serbs are thinking of the bombs they still live with four years after the blitz on Belgrade.

Serbs still come across unexploded bombshells and cluster bombs. And they still do not know the real effects of depleted uranium missiles dropped in some areas.

"We have marked 14 locations with unexploded cluster bombs" Petar Mihajlovic from the Centre for Ordnance Dismantling and De-mining told IPS. "Besides, there are 40 locations with unexploded bombs that weigh between 250 to 1000 kg."

Six unexploded bombs have been traced in Belgrade, embedded three to 20 metres into the ground in areas where dismantling them could cause enormous damage. A one-tonne unexploded bomb lies at the bottom of a lake. "We are mulling over what to do with them and expect foreign experts to help," says Mihajlovic.

More than 20,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped in the 11-week campaign against Serbia, according to military and independent estimates.

The NATO air raids were launched March 24, 1999 after Western diplomacy failed to persuade former leader Slobodan Milosevic to stop repression against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo province. The raids continued until June 10.

"The most dangerous are the cluster bombs and they are our priority," says Mihajlovic. "With the assistance of foreign donors, we have spent five million dollars locating and dismantling some, but they are spread over large areas and some are still hanging from the trees in the mountains."

The areas are marked as dangerous, but from time to time there are reports of people injured by these bombs.

Cluster bombs spray thousands of lethal projectiles over a large area just above ground level. They cause so-called "air blast" injuries to internal organs and can rip apart people standing within 20 metres. One cluster bomb killed dozens of civilians in the southern Serbian town Nis in May 1999.

The fallout from shells made of depleted uranium used against tanks in the southern areas close to Kosovo province remains uncertain. Shells made with depleted uranium are used to penetrate heavy armour. Most of Milosevic’s army was stationed in this area.

"There are five locations in southern Serbia where the depleted uranium shells landed," says Dr Miroslav Nikcevic from the Health Ministry. "So far we have spent 425,000 dollars for decontamination of the sites. Most shells were found in the fields and there are still no agricultural activities there."

A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study has concluded that these sites in southern Serbia "do not present immediate radioactive or toxic risks for the environment or human health." But UNEP has asked the authorities to take precautionary measures.

"We tested the soldiers and people who were in the area at the time of air raids," says Dr Snezana Milacic from the Health Ministry. "So far, we have not been able to establish the direct consequences on their health. However, we found some chromosome abnormalities that are developing and the only thing we can do is to follow the developments."

The regime of Slobodan Milosevic, which fell from power 16 months after the end of NATO air strikes, did not reveal the exact casualty toll from the bombing. It said the civilian death toll was between 2,500 and 3,500. The death toll among the military and the police was put at 1,002.

The Milosevic regime said up to 100 billion dollars worth of damage was inflicted on factories, buildings and infrastructure. The new administration revised the figure to 29.6 billion dollars.