SARAJEVO
Two people were killed and two others were wounded in land mine blasts over the last four days in Bosnia.
A 30-year old man died and another suffered injuries on Tuesday in the forest near Teslic town of central Bosnia's Republika Srpska entity, the demining team of the Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska confirmed.
The mine reportedly went off while two people were collecting firewood at the site near the line separating the Federation and Republika Srpska.
On Saturday, a 10-year-old boy died and his father suffered severe injuries in a landmine blast near Gracanica town in northern Bosnia.
Mine blasts in Bosnia and Herzegovina mostly occur along the line between the two entities while people collect wood, forest fruits or pieces of scrap metals. Since the end of the Bosnian war in 1995, thousands of people including 237 children have died in mine explosions.
During clearing operations, 46 deminers have been killed and 68 suffered injuries.
Authorities assume that 220,000 mines were hidden at a minimum of 13,000 sites in the country after the war.
More than 3 percent (1,367 square meters) of the territory, inhabited by 100,000 citizens, is still covered by dangerous explosives.
In 2008, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Strategy on Mine Action for the period from 2009 to 2019, according to which the country's territory should be completely cleared by 2019 in a process requiring an annual budget of around 41 million euros.
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