Responding to natural disaster in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Working together to deal with crisis
The training exercise aimed at demonstrating the country's capability to co-operate and carry out a military activity as it prepares for an eventual future in Euro-Atlantic structures. It was the first of its kind involving military units from both entities under the direction of the new State Defence Minister, Nikola Radovanoviæ. More than 400 staff from the State and entities' civil protection agencies participated in the drill.
The exercise, dubbed "Assistance to the Casualties 2004", simulated an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Mercalli scale in a village close to the Inter-Entity Boundary Line - a line which separates Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities. Fire fighters from both regions were called in to deal with a blaze in a brick factory.
The drill showed how well officials from Republika Srpska and the BiH Federation can co-operate in the event of a real crisis. One of the goals was to provide a system of protection and rescue through co-ordinated alerting, observation, evaluation and decision-making.
The exercise was carried out in accordance with Bosnia and Herzegovina's Law on Defence. This law stipulates that the Minister of Defence "may approve the participation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in responding to natural disasters and accidents at the request of the appropriate civil protection authority from the entity".
The fire fighting exercise was followed by a search and rescue operation to recover casualties from the Usora river and mine fields in the area.
Special rescue units were flown in by helicopter to bring the 'victims' to the nearest hospital in Doboj municipality.
While the teams recovered victims from a mine field nearby Petrovo, the BiH Minister of Defence and other officials observed the construction of a pontoon bridge across the river Bosna.
See the OSCE online photo archive for more photos and high-resolution versions.
The training exercise aimed at demonstrating the country's capability to co-operate and carry out a military activity as it prepares for an eventual future in Euro-Atlantic structures. It was the first of its kind involving military units from both entities under the direction of the new State Defence Minister, Nikola Radovanoviæ. More than 400 staff from the State and entities' civil protection agencies participated in the drill.
The exercise, dubbed "Assistance to the Casualties 2004", simulated an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Mercalli scale in a village close to the Inter-Entity Boundary Line - a line which separates Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities. Fire fighters from both regions were called in to deal with a blaze in a brick factory.
The drill showed how well officials from Republika Srpska and the BiH Federation can co-operate in the event of a real crisis. One of the goals was to provide a system of protection and rescue through co-ordinated alerting, observation, evaluation and decision-making.
The exercise was carried out in accordance with Bosnia and Herzegovina's Law on Defence. This law stipulates that the Minister of Defence "may approve the participation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in responding to natural disasters and accidents at the request of the appropriate civil protection authority from the entity".
The fire fighting exercise was followed by a search and rescue operation to recover casualties from the Usora river and mine fields in the area.
Special rescue units were flown in by helicopter to bring the 'victims' to the nearest hospital in Doboj municipality.
While the teams recovered victims from a mine field nearby Petrovo, the BiH Minister of Defence and other officials observed the construction of a pontoon bridge across the river Bosna.
See the OSCE online photo archive for more photos and high-resolution versions.