300-kilo WWI bomb removed in Belgrade

A WWI-era bomb was sent to a sandy terrain about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Belgrade, where it was destroyed – Copyright AFP Ishara S. KODIKARA

A century-old artillery round weighing nearly 300 kilogrammes (660 pounds), was safely removed on Sunday from a construction site near the Serbian Parliament in Belgrade, police said.

The 305mm “Morser M.11” howitzer shell, found last Wednesday, was used by the Austro-Hungarian army during the July 1914 siege of the capital during World War I, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic ahead of the removal operation.

Police had ordered nearby residents to remove their vehicles from the area and urged them to be cautious, advising to leave homes if possible.

The shell was sent to a sandy terrain about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Belgrade, where it was destroyed.

Several bombs left over from previous wars have been found in Serbia, but they have been removed without causing explosions.

In Nis, southern Serbia, a large bomb from the 1999 NATO bombing was discovered in April, while in 2021, a 242-kilogramme bomb from WWII was removed from a construction site in a Belgrade suburb.