Medicinski vjesnik, Vol. 29 No. (1-2), 1997.
Professional paper
Injuries in Croatian army soldiers inflicted in an offensive action during the 1991/1992 war in Croatia
Silva Soldo-Butković
Dinko Puntarić
Abstract
The types and number of injuries in soldiers of a Croatian Army Brigade inflicted in an offensive action during the war in Croatia (1991/1992) were analyzed according to the mechanism of wounding. About 1,000 soldiers were involved in a 6-hour offensive action in a flat, partly swampy and wooded territory, convenient for a large-scale use of antipersonnel mines and other explosive devices. Out of the total of 92 casualties, 15 were killed in action and 77 lightly or severely wounded. The mechanisms of wounding included shell fragments in 44 cases (47.8%), antipersonnel mines and gunshots in 14 cases each (15.3%) and other mechanisms (fall, blow, stress) in 20 soldiers (21.7%). The lethal outcome was recorded in one out of 13 soldiers with gunshot wounds (7.1%), 11 out of 44 wounded by shell fragments (25%) and in 4 out of 14 wounded by antipersonnel mines (28.5%). All injuries by shell fragments were multiple, whereas the type and severity of injuries inflicted by antipersonnel mines were directly related to the type of mine. Pressure-activated mines generally caused limited injuries to the lower extremities, ranging from mutilation to amputation. The injuries inflicted by other types of antipersonnel mines resemble those caused by shell fragments; however, their severity depends upon a number of factors.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
192443
URI
Publication date:
1.12.1997.
Visits: 1.226 *