BY THE TIME THAT RICHARD Davis and I got to Croatia at the end of Balkan War, there weren’t many mine-clearing specialists working there who didn’t have something to say about the PROM-1.
The war that preceded these clearing operations had been a bitter struggle that had left behind a legacy of hundreds of thousands of casualties. Many were as a consequence of having triggered mines. We were aware, too, that by the time the Allies eventually clear all of Kosovo’s landmines, there will still be more in other regions where the fighting had been fierce, Bosnia and Croatia included.
Since it is official that all mines must be cleared – and ultimately, they will be – it is how this is done that focuses the mind because where landmines are in the offing, the PROM-1 is among the deadliest.
Mine-clearing teams working those areas are often fortunate to spot them before they are accidentally detonated. They also need to cope with the reality that they were originally laid in clusters. When that becomes apparent, the word is usually whispered down the line and those involved stop what they’re doing to establish the next best course of action.
By the time the Dayton Peace Settlement was signed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in November 1995, much thought had already been given to the best possible way to accomplish some kind of peace accord between the warring factions in the Balkans. What was certain was that whoever was involved would be faced with an extremely difficult task and that more casualties would follow. In the words of one American specialist, ‘The problem is that these mines are a bitch to get at.’