Pokémon Go: Bosnia Players Warned of Minefields

Local Editor

Bosnians playing the hit mobile game Pokémon Go are being warned to avoid straying into areas still sown with landmines from the war in the 1990s.

A Bosnian demining charity, Posavina bez mina, issued its warning after hearing reports of Pokémon Go users venturing into risky areas.

Players use their smartphones to hunt for cartoon monsters in the real world.

At least 600 people have been killed in landmine accidents in Bosnia since the end of the war in 1995.

About 120,000 mines remain undiscovered, a Bosnian demining group estimates.

As the popularity of Pokémon Go has soared, there had been numerous incidents and accidents involving gamers.

"We received information that some users of the Pokémon Go app in Bosnia were going to places which are a risk for mines, in search of a Pokémon," Posavina bez mina said on Facebook.

"Citizens are urged not to do so, to respect demarcation signs of dangerous mine fields and not to go into unknown areas," it added.

Earlier this week, two teenagers in the US state of Florida were shot at by a householder who mistook them for burglars.

The game, however, has had some unexpected positive effects: in one UK town police said players reported a theft while hunting for monsters.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team