Casualties  Overview

In 2016, the Albanian Mine and Munitions Coordination Office (AMMCO) did not record any mine/ERW casualties in the Republic of Albania. In 2015, five child casualties of abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) were recorded. In 2016, no casualties of AXO were entered in the national database, but casualties continued to be recorded in 2017, with six casualties recorded as of August.[1]

The casualties registered to August 2017 occurred in incidents on 20 January 2017 and on 22 and 25 March 2017. The incidents occurred on private property in Pogradec, and around the army buildings in Porto Romano Durres and Yrshek Tirana. Of the six casualties five were injured and one died after being transported to the National Trauma Hospital. One casualty was military. The others were civilian, including two children.[2]

Since 2009, less than 10 casualties have been recorded in Albania for each year. The last landmine casualties reported were in 2005.

Due to decreased funding there are some challenges to data collection. The Albanian Red Cross and Albanian Assistance for Integration and Development (ALB-AID) used to collect Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) forms and submit them to AMMCO. However, only in 2016, was ALB-AID in a position to gather casualty information.[3]

A total of 998 UXO casualties (151 killed and 847 injured) have been identified in Albania between 1997 and 2016.[4] The Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE) casualty database for Kukës region contained information on 272 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (34 killed; 238 injured) for the period 1999–2005.

Cluster munitions casualties

There have been at least 55 cluster munition casualties in Albania. The Kukës database recorded 53 casualties from cluster munition remnants (nine killed; 44 injured).[5] Two additional casualties, due to the use of cluster munitions, were also identified.[6] Data on all injured people by cluster munitions is disaggregated by age and gender. Albania reported that there were no changes to casualty data since its initial Convention on Cluster Munitions report submission.[7]