ACTION HELD TO RAISE FUNDS FOR TRAINING DEMINING DOGS

MAKARSKA, Aug 24 (Hina) - Croatia is among the ten most mine- infested countries in the world and close to the top of the list according to the number of mines per capita, an official with "The Dog in Humanitarian Action" association said on Saturday. It is estimated there are about one million mines on 170 square kilometres of Croatian soil marked as mined, but it is suspected that another 1,700 km are mined as well, the association's vice president Zvonko Juric said in Makarska ahead of a humanitarian concert to be held tonight as part of an action aimed at raising US$1.25 million. The funds would ensure the training of 50 teams of guides with two mine-seeking dogs each. The animals would then be handed to the Croatian Mine Action Centre. The sponsor of the action is Croatian President Stjepan Mesic. Juric said mine-clearing should be stepped up, considering that the government decided to clear Croatia of mines by 2010 and that only 12 square kilometres were demined last year. The need for guides and mine-seeking dogs increased due to the fact that only 100 days a year can be spent on demining, said Juric. He stated that experience indicates that one demining worker on 1,000 traced mines gets killed, which means that another 1,000 casualties can be expected before mine-clearing wraps up. Juric recalled that 1,860 workers have been injured to date, including 441 who were killed. This points to the need of introducing dogs in mine-clearing as dogs are faster, more thorough, and more reliable than men in performing this task, said Juric. More over, dogs make demining faster, cheaper and reduce human casualties. (hina) ha