Unexploded ordnance, Xhaçka: Within 2019 there will be no dangerous area in Albania

Published: Tuesday, 05 June 2018 11:55

For more than 20 years, Suçi hotspot in Burrel has been one of the most dangerous sites due to unexploded ordnance.

The effectives of the Armed Forces Support Command EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Company, for more than 1 month provided complete clearance of this area.

The Defence Minister Olta Xhaçka during the meeting with the EOD field personnel stated that 84 thousand square meters of terrain certified, clean and safe have been returned to the community.

“There are about 84 thousand square meters that have been returned to the community, which that are already certified, clean and safe. Our effectives have been working here for about a month. It was a quite unsafe area and posed a high risk due to the unexploded ammunition since ‘97. Along with the hotspot of Selica, we estimate that maybe after 5 months we will finish even it and we will have returned back to the community throughout this period 17 hotspots, thousands of square meters clean and safe for civil use. And for 2019, our ambition is to finish clearing the last 2 hotspots to turn them back to the community, certifying them clean and safe," - said the Minister.

The Defence Minister praised the FA's effectives for the extraordinary work on this important mission for the assistance they are giving to the community of these areas.

Albanian Mines and Munition Coordination Office (AMMCO), as a specialized structure of the Ministry of Defence, a team of professionals, built over the last decade with the support of UNDP and various donors, coordinates and monitors ammunition - cleaning operations of unexploded devices in hotspots and simultaneously certifies the areas after their complete cleansing.