Pokemon No-Go: Gamers Venture Into Bosnia's Deadly Minefields

On July 19, Pokemon GO players ventured into minefields to catch Pocket Monsters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, endangering their lives, announced the Bosnian NGO “Posavina without mines.”

“Today we received information about cases in which users of the Android application Pokémon GO went into suspicious and risky territories to find Pocket Monsters. We kindly ask all citizens not to do so, and instead comply with all established warning signs about mine danger and not go into areas that they are not familiar with,” read the NGO’s message.

Experts warn that the game can actually cause injury or lead to burglaries in the real world. Several Russian banks have started to offer health insurance to players of Pokemon GO. Additionally, a Russian secret services veteran did not rule out the possibility of the app being used for espionage. 

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Onishchenko expressed concern that the game might have serious psychological effects.

The Bosnian Mine Action Center has estimated that approximately 1,145 square kilometers, or 2.3% of the country is considered to be dangerous, as there are mines, cluster munitions and other explosives left from the time of the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict.

This, based on official data, directly threatens the security of 545,000 citizens or 15% of the Bosnian population.