In Prokuplje, in cooperation with NATO, training was conducted for members of the Serbian Armed Forces to remove improvised explosive devices, the Ministry of Defense of Serbia announced today.
The training was conducted in cooperation with the NATO Joint Forces Command in Naples within the framework of the “Partnership for Peace” program, according to the announcement.
Its goal is to further develop the capabilities of the platoon for demining and removing unexploded ordnance from the 310th Engineer Battalion of the Third Brigade of the Ground Army.
Through lectures, discussions and case studies, international instructors presented the procedures of NATO forces in dealing with improvised explosive devices to members of the Serbian Armed Forces.
They also presented experiences from the use of unmanned platforms for this purpose, as well as contemporary trends in tactics against threats to the armed forces in the urban environment.
Experiences in detecting, demining and destroying unexploded ordnance were also exchanged, the statement added.
The Ministry of Defense of Serbia stated that the implementation of this activity “represents the continuation of the successful cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces with the Combined Forces Command from Naples”.
That ministry also stated that it “contributes to the further improvement of the capacities of the Serbian Armed Forces for identification, finding and safe destruction of improvised explosive devices”.
Serbia, normally a militarily neutral country, became a member of the NATO program “Partnership for Peace” 17 years ago.
On the territory of Serbia, there are also numerous remnants of artillery shells, aerial bombs, various types of mines and ammunition that are sporadically found during the execution of works.
These are unexploded ordnance left over from the period of the First and Long World War as well as the NATO bombing in 1999, the removal of which is the responsibility of the Demining Center.
That center announced on March 20 that three hand grenades and two artillery shells were found at the site for the construction of the National Stadium in Surčin.
Bombs and grenades, caliber 85 and 75 millimeters, were found at a depth of about 40 centimeters, and were destroyed by members of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Emergency Situations.
On the website of the Demining Center, it is stated that the problems related to humanitarian demining in Serbia are numerous, and that the speed of their resolution depends on the provision of funds.
This center conducts reconnaissance of locations suspected of being contaminated by cluster munitions, mines and other unexploded ordnance and develops demining projects.
As stated, it delivers those projects to donors or international foundations in order to secure donations for their implementation, performs quality control of demining and other activities.