> ... in the Balkans this was exclusively done in areas to harm civilians ...

It wasn’t.

While there were probably some areas that were mined with the intention of harming civilians, most of the mines were laid in places where you would expect the enemy to advance. In the section of the front where I was located, all minefields were laid with the intention of slowing down or preventing enemy infiltration (which does not exclude areas near human settlements).

There was simply no point in mining places that were under your control and where you expected your people to live after the war, unless it was necessary.