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Abstract

In the 1990s, the collapse of the former Soviet Union led to the eventual disintegration of Yugoslavia. Consequently, the Croatian government’s decision to break away from Yugoslavia in 1991 prompted resistance from Belgrade and an uprising by the Serbian minority. During these years of conflict, all involved parties laid landmines as both offensive and defensive weapons against enemy forces. The mines were used to protect areas of strategic and economic importance, such as railway lines, power stations and pipelines. After Croatia’s secession in 1991, the country went to war with the Serbs, specifically over the area known as Slavonia. The Serbian army controlled this region and the area of Krajina until April 1995 when the Croatian Defense Council reclaimed western Slavonia. In response to Croatia’s victory, the Serbs bombed Zagreb, Croatia’s capital. Despite Serbian efforts to potentially halt Croat independence, the Croatian army pursued the Serbs.

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