Interior Minister Davor Božinović announced Friday that Croatia is officially free of landmines. Thirty-one years after the end of the Homeland War, all known minefields have been cleared — a major milestone for the country.

The decades-long effort came at a heavy cost. Over three decades of painstaking and dangerous work, 208 people lost their lives, including 41 deminers. The total cost of clearing the country is estimated at around 1.2 billion euros.