Kosovo

Kosovo is a land-locked country in Southeast Europe, formerly part of Yugoslavia. It declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The terrain features high plains, rolling hills, and mountains.

HALO started work here in 1999, clearing bombs and mines, and delivering safety training.

2,343

Hectares made safe

101,528

Beneficiaries of cleared land

More on clearing land in Kosovo

In 1999, NATO air forces conducted over 10,000 combat bombing missions over Yugoslavia. They released cluster bombs on military and infrastructure targets in Kosovo. Each cluster bomb contained hundreds of bomblets, with a failure rate estimated at 20%. Tens of thousands of these unexploded items littered the ground and became buried in fields, gardens and school yards.

Yugoslavia's military had also planted minefields on Kosovo's borders. This was to prevent infiltration from Albania and Montenegro by the Kosovar Liberation Army.

A tree in a wood in Kosovo with a danger of mines sign attached to it — Mines and cluster bombs littered the woods of Kosovo after the 1999 conflict

Kaltirina, a child on her way to school in Kosovo

I was frightened to walk along the road before it was cleared.

There were cluster bombs there. I want to be a doctor when I grow up.

Kaltirina Gashi, age 8
Kosovo

Donate now

HALO's work and impact in Kosovo

HALO started working in Kosovo straight after the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops in 1999.

Hundreds of thousands of returning refugees were finding their farmland, homes and gardens contaminated by explosives.

By 2025, HALO Kosovo has cleared cluster bombs and landmines from an area the size of more than 2,800 football pitches.

We employ over 100 local men and women. This creates opportunities in a country where job prospects are not always plentiful, especially for women.

We introduced childcare stipends in 2018, to support local women to come and work for HALO.

In the summer of 2024, HALO celebrated 25 years of making the people of Kosovo safe.

A deminer in Kosovo holds a detector whilst standing on a snow covered hill

Zejnepe sits in a kitchen with her granddaughter on her lap

I am too old now to really enjoy life, but I am happy knowing that my children and grandchildren will live in a safe place, free of mines.

Zejnepe's husband, Afet, lost his leg in an explosion when he stood on a landmine while collecting firewood. In the years that followed, the family lived in fear of accidents. In November 2017, HALO deminers finished clearing the minefield where Afet lost his leg.

Zejnepe, Kosovo