Greece
Casualties
The last ERW casualty in the Hellenic Republic (Greece) was identified in 2012. In January of that year, local media reported that an Albanian man was injured by an explosive item said to be an antipersonnel mine in the forest along the Ioannina-Kakkavos national road.[1] Casualties identified before 2012 include four mine casualties in 2008.[2]
Between 1999 and 2016, the Monitor identified at least 109 landmine casualties (66 killed; 43 injured); the majority of whom were non-Greek citizens. Between 1954 and 2007, at least 31 deminers were killed. From 1954 to 2002, 17 military personnel were injured in clearance operations.[3] The vast majority of casualties were migrants and asylum seekers entering Greece through border areas. The head of the clearance battalion reported that some 187 non-Greek citizens had been injured between 1995 and early 2007.[4]
[1] “24χρονος ακρωτηριάστηκε από νάρκη!” (“24-year old injured by a mine!”), Proto Thema (weekly newspaper), 29 January 2012.
[2] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2009).
[3] ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2008: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2008); and ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2006: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2006).
[4] Based on a declaration made by the head of the Minefield Clearance Battalion, TENX. See ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2008: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada: October 2008).