Bosnia and Herzegovina to sell surplus weapons

9 April, 2024 A Bosnian worker opens boxes of surplus shells destined for destruction.

2015. Doboy Photo credits: AP Photo The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to solve the problem of surplus weapons and ammunition by selling them.

The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina gave the green light to this plan on April 9. The country's Ministry of Defense explained that storing these weapons in depots for the past 14 years has been expensive. The country's ministries do not currently have data on how many surplus weapons are stored in the depots of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gojko Knezevic, Chief of the Joint Staff of the BiH Armed Forces, said it was "difficult to even estimate" the exact amount.

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Ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a weapons disposal facility, 2013. Photo credits: Europa.ba

The annex, adopted by the BiH Council of Ministers on April 9, defines the procedure for the sale and export of surplus property owned by the BiH Ministry of Defense. A large amount of weapons and ammunition remained in the warehouses of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the 1995 war.

According to the OSCE, it is often impossible to determine their origin, age, or quality, so this poses a major security threat. "In addition, the number of weapons and ammunition stored is many times higher than the needs of the BiH Armed Forces," the report says.

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Boxes of ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina at an arms disposal facility, 2017. Photo credits: Europa.ba

The analysis discovered that the BiH Armed Forces needed about 7,000 tons of ammunition to function optimally, which means that in 2005, the surplus of ammunition amounted to 31,000 tons.

At the same time, the European Union, together with EUFOR ALTHEA, has been funding the reduction of surplus ammunition for many years to maintain a safe and secure environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Boxes of ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina at an arms disposal facility, 2017.

Photo credits: Europa.ba

The country has an enterprise in the city of Doboj that is destroying weapons and ammunition with EU support.