A total of 1,536 weapons and weapon parts were destroyed on Saturday at the Jelšingrad foundry in Banja Luka.
The weapons had been collected and confiscated by various authorities, including:
- Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska
- Nine cantonal police departments
- Brčko District Police
The destruction operation was organized by the Coordinating Committee for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons in BiH, in collaboration with the Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Center for Eastern and Southeastern Europe (UNDP SEESAC).
Technical support was provided by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in BiH, while funding came from the European Union through the project “Support to Strengthen the Fight Against Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Western Balkans.”
The initiative aims to raise public awareness about the dangers of surplus, poorly secured, or illegally possessed weapons and their threat to everyday safety.
According to the Ministry of Security of BiH, the circulation and illegal proliferation of weapons in Southeast Europe transcends borders and requires a coordinated regional response.
