1999 : NATO BOMBS YUGOSLAVIA:
On March 24, 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
commences air strikes against Yugoslavia with the bombing of Serbian
military positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The NATO
offensive came in response to a new wave of ethnic cleansing launched
by Serbian forces against the Kosovar Albanians on March 20.
The Kosovo region lay at the heart of the Serbian empire in the late
Middle Ages but was lost to the Ottoman Turks in 1389 following
Serbia's defeat in the Battle of Kosovo. By the time Serbia regained
control of Kosovo from Turkey in 1913, there were few Serbs left in a
region that had come to be dominated by ethnic Albanians. In 1918,
Kosovo formally became a province of Serbia, and it continued as such
after communist leader Josip Broz Tito established the Federal
People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945, comprising the Balkan states
of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, and
Macedonia. However, Tito eventually gave in to Kosovar demands for
greater autonomy, and after 1974 Kosovo existed as independent state
in all but name.
Serbs came to resent Kosovo's autonomy, which allowed it to act
against Serbian interests, and in 1987 Slobodan Milosevic was elected
leader of Serbia's Communist Party with a promise of restoring Serbian
rule to Kosovo. In 1989, Milosevic became president of Serbia and
moved quickly to suppress Kosovo, stripping its autonomy and in 1990
sending troops to disband its government. Meanwhile, Serbian
nationalism led to the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation in 1991,
and in 1992 the Balkan crisis deteriorated into civil war. A new
Yugoslav state, consisting only of Serbia and the small state of
Montenegro, was created, and Kosovo began four years of nonviolent
resistance to Serbian rule.
The militant Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerged in 1996 and began
attacking Serbian police in Kosovo. With arms obtained in Albania, the
KLA stepped up its attacks in 1997, prompting a major offensive by
Serbian troops against the rebel-held Drenica region in February-March
1998. Dozens of civilians were killed, and enlistment in the KLA
increased dramatically. In July, the KLA launched an offensive across
Kosovo, seizing control of nearly half the province before being
routed in a Serbian counteroffensive later that summer. The Serbian
troops drove thousands of ethnic Albanians from their homes and were
accused of massacring Kosovo civilians.
In October, NATO threatened Serbia with air strikes, and Milosevic
agreed to allow the return of tens of thousands of refugees. Fighting
soon resumed, however, and talks between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs
in Rambouillet, France, in February 1999 ended in failure. On March
18, further peace talks in Paris collapsed after the Serbian
delegation refused to sign a deal calling for Kosovo autonomy and the
deployment of NATO troops to enforce the agreement. Two days later,
the Serbian army launched a new offensive in Kosovo. On March 24, NATO
air strikes began.
In addition to Serbian military positions, the NATO air campaign
targeted Serbian government buildings and the country's infrastructure
in an effort to destabilize the Milosevic regime. The bombing and
continued Serbian offensives drove hundreds of thousands of Kosovar
Albanians into neighboring Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Many of
these refugees were airlifted to safety in the United States and other
NATO nations. On June 10, the NATO bombardment ended when Serbia
agreed to a peace agreement calling for the withdrawal of Serb forces
from Kosovo and their replacement by NATO peacekeeping troops.
With the exception of two U.S. pilots killed in a training mission in
Albania, no NATO personnel lost their lives in the 78-day operation.
There were some mishaps, however, such as miscalculated bombings that
led to the deaths of Kosovar Albanian refugees, KLA members, and
Serbian civilians. The most controversial incident was the May 7
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which killed three Chinese
journalists and caused a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Chinese relations.
On June 12, NATO forces moved into Kosovo from Macedonia. The same
day, Russian troops arrived in the Kosovo capital of Pristina and
forced NATO into agreeing to a joint occupation. Despite the presence
of peacekeeping troops, the returning Kosovar Albanians retaliated
against Kosovo's Serbian minority, forcing them to flee into Serbia.
Under the NATO occupation, Kosovar autonomy was restored, but the
province remained officially part of Serbia.
Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power by a popular revolution in
Belgrade in October 2000. He was replaced by the popularly elected
Vojislav Kostunica, a moderate Serbian nationalist who promised to
reintegrate Serbia into Europe and the world after a decade of
isolation.
Slobodan Milosevic died in prison in the Netherlands on March 11,
2006, shortly before his trial for crimes against humanity and
genocide was due to end.
history.com/tdih.do
On March 24, 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
commences air strikes against Yugoslavia with the bombing of Serbian
military positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The NATO
offensive came in response to a new wave of ethnic cleansing launched
by Serbian forces against the Kosovar Albanians on March 20.
The Kosovo region lay at the heart of the Serbian empire in the late
Middle Ages but was lost to the Ottoman Turks in 1389 following
Serbia's defeat in the Battle of Kosovo. By the time Serbia regained
control of Kosovo from Turkey in 1913, there were few Serbs left in a
region that had come to be dominated by ethnic Albanians. In 1918,
Kosovo formally became a province of Serbia, and it continued as such
after communist leader Josip Broz Tito established the Federal
People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945, comprising the Balkan states
of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, and
Macedonia. However, Tito eventually gave in to Kosovar demands for
greater autonomy, and after 1974 Kosovo existed as independent state
in all but name.
Serbs came to resent Kosovo's autonomy, which allowed it to act
against Serbian interests, and in 1987 Slobodan Milosevic was elected
leader of Serbia's Communist Party with a promise of restoring Serbian
rule to Kosovo. In 1989, Milosevic became president of Serbia and
moved quickly to suppress Kosovo, stripping its autonomy and in 1990
sending troops to disband its government. Meanwhile, Serbian
nationalism led to the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation in 1991,
and in 1992 the Balkan crisis deteriorated into civil war. A new
Yugoslav state, consisting only of Serbia and the small state of
Montenegro, was created, and Kosovo began four years of nonviolent
resistance to Serbian rule.
The militant Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerged in 1996 and began
attacking Serbian police in Kosovo. With arms obtained in Albania, the
KLA stepped up its attacks in 1997, prompting a major offensive by
Serbian troops against the rebel-held Drenica region in February-March
1998. Dozens of civilians were killed, and enlistment in the KLA
increased dramatically. In July, the KLA launched an offensive across
Kosovo, seizing control of nearly half the province before being
routed in a Serbian counteroffensive later that summer. The Serbian
troops drove thousands of ethnic Albanians from their homes and were
accused of massacring Kosovo civilians.
In October, NATO threatened Serbia with air strikes, and Milosevic
agreed to allow the return of tens of thousands of refugees. Fighting
soon resumed, however, and talks between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs
in Rambouillet, France, in February 1999 ended in failure. On March
18, further peace talks in Paris collapsed after the Serbian
delegation refused to sign a deal calling for Kosovo autonomy and the
deployment of NATO troops to enforce the agreement. Two days later,
the Serbian army launched a new offensive in Kosovo. On March 24, NATO
air strikes began.
In addition to Serbian military positions, the NATO air campaign
targeted Serbian government buildings and the country's infrastructure
in an effort to destabilize the Milosevic regime. The bombing and
continued Serbian offensives drove hundreds of thousands of Kosovar
Albanians into neighboring Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Many of
these refugees were airlifted to safety in the United States and other
NATO nations. On June 10, the NATO bombardment ended when Serbia
agreed to a peace agreement calling for the withdrawal of Serb forces
from Kosovo and their replacement by NATO peacekeeping troops.
With the exception of two U.S. pilots killed in a training mission in
Albania, no NATO personnel lost their lives in the 78-day operation.
There were some mishaps, however, such as miscalculated bombings that
led to the deaths of Kosovar Albanian refugees, KLA members, and
Serbian civilians. The most controversial incident was the May 7
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which killed three Chinese
journalists and caused a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Chinese relations.
On June 12, NATO forces moved into Kosovo from Macedonia. The same
day, Russian troops arrived in the Kosovo capital of Pristina and
forced NATO into agreeing to a joint occupation. Despite the presence
of peacekeeping troops, the returning Kosovar Albanians retaliated
against Kosovo's Serbian minority, forcing them to flee into Serbia.
Under the NATO occupation, Kosovar autonomy was restored, but the
province remained officially part of Serbia.
Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power by a popular revolution in
Belgrade in October 2000. He was replaced by the popularly elected
Vojislav Kostunica, a moderate Serbian nationalist who promised to
reintegrate Serbia into Europe and the world after a decade of
isolation.
Slobodan Milosevic died in prison in the Netherlands on March 11,
2006, shortly before his trial for crimes against humanity and
genocide was due to end.
history.com/tdih.do
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