1999 NATO Intervention in Yugoslavia

Background
• Yugoslavia emerged as a kingdom
after World War One.
• It was created from the merger of
several areas with Slavic majorities
formerly part of Austria-Hungary
with the Kingdom of Serbia.
• The Kingdom of Montenegro
merged itself with Serbia in 1918.
• This existed from 1918-1941, when
the Axis invaded and carved it up.
Background
(Continued)

• During Axis occupation, Yugoslavia’s King

went into exile in London.
• The allies helped to form a provisional
government in Yugoslavia to help unite
resistance movements against the Axis.
• Marshall Josip Broz Tito became its Prime
Minister.
• The arrangement did not specify whether
the new government was a Republic or a
Monarchy, so after the Axis’ defeat, Tito
was able to consolidate power and
become Head of State.
Background
(Continued)
• In November, 1945, the Federal People’s
Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed.
• Ethnic-based federal units of Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia.
• Serbia had two autonomous regions: Vojvodina
(mostly ethnic Serbs, but with large minority
populations) and Kosovo (ethnically Albanian).
• Yugoslavia was neutral in the Cold War, outside
of the Soviet orbit with a more market-
oriented economy.
• Tito governed the country until 1980, when he
died and the economy collapsed.
Background
(Continued)
• Ethnic nationalism and political
dissidence rose as the economy faltered
in the 1980s.
• Yugoslavia attempted to re-organize
itself to be a confederation, giving more
powers to ethnic regions.
• This failed and in 1991, Slovenia and
Croatia (the wealthiest parts of the
country) seceded and began to gain
international recognition.
Yugoslav Wars
• Croatia and Slovenia both declared independence on June
25th, 1991.
• Conflict in Slovenia was brief (ten days), as the central
government did not want to waste resources on an “ethnically
homogenous” area.
• Croatia’s independence was a bigger deal.
• Serbs were always the largest ethnic group in Yugoslavia, but
as ethnic nationalism rose, more of the smaller ethnicities
moved away from service in the federal government, leaving
the armed forces more Serb-dominated.
• To hammer this point home, Slobodan Milosevic, the
President of Serbia (not Yugoslavia) is considered the main
leader of the federal side in the Yugoslav Wars.
• U.N. claimed they were not trying to keep Yugoslavia but
carve out a “Greater Serbia”.
Yugoslav Wars
(Continued)
• Croatia’s declaration of independence was followed by a war
until 1995, fought between Croatia and both Yugoslavia and
with Serb militias within Croatia.
• The international community largely remained neutral during
this conflict, only calling for peace without pointing fingers.
• Much of the world began to recognize Croatia’s
independence in 1992 and 1993, with Serbia (Yugoslavia)
doing so in 1996.
• Some claims that Serbs had committed genocide against
Croats were voiced and brought to the I.C.J. in 1999, but it
was found that there was no genocidal intent behind actions
affecting civilians.
• 15,007 dead or missing on Croatia’s side (8,865 soldiers,
6,322 civilians).
• 7,204 dead or missing on Serbia’s side (3,486 soldiers, 2,677
civilians, 864 unidentified).
Yugoslav Wars
(Continued)
• Macedonia declared independence in
September, 1991 and was the only
region of Yugoslavia to secede
peacefully in this period.
• Bosnia & Herzegovina declared
independence in February, 1992.
• The most diverse republic in Yugoslavia:
• Muslim Bosniaks (44%), Orthodox
Serbs (32.5%), and Catholic Croats
(17%).
Yugoslav Wars
(Continued)
• After Bosnia’s declaration of independence
(from a referendum boycotted by Serbs in
Bosnia), Serbs sought to gain control over their
majority areas in Bosnia.
• Yugoslav army units in Bosnia fought for
control over parts of the country, backed by
Milosevic and Serbia.
• Later formed into the self-proclaimed state of
the Republika Srpska.
• Croatia initially supported Bosnia, but between
October, 1992 and February, 1994, they turned
and began fighting each other, before again
coming together.
 • Between 700,000 and 1,000,000 Bosniaks were expelled from areas held by Serb forces.
• Smaller number of Croats also expelled, along with around 30,000 Romani.

War Crimes in • Non-Serbs were dismissed from their jobs and replaced by Serbs in places, were ordered to mark their
homes with white flags, Bosniak intellectuals were deported to the Omarska concentration camp.

Bosnia •
•
In Banja Luka, Bosniaks and Croats were evicted from their homes, which were then given to Serbs.
In many towns, Bosniaks were put on buses and forced to leave at gun point.
• Leaders in the Republika Srpska indicated that towns should be “100% clean”, meaning no Bosniaks
should remain.
War Crimes in
Bosnia
(Continued)
• In many locations, Bosniak civilians were outright killed.
• In the municipality of Visegard, between 1,000-3,000 civilians
were killed by being shot or hung or thrown from the town’s
bridge (orders of President of Republika Srpska).
• In Srebinica, 8,372 Bosniak civilians (men and boys) were
massacred.
• Similar massacres took place in areas under Serb occupation.
• Men and boys were targeted for massacres, while women
and girls were systematically raped (12,000-50,000) and
expelled.
• In total, Serb forces killed about 50,000 non-Serbs in the
interest of establishing a Serb state in Bosnia.
War Crimes in Bosnia
(Continued)
• Croat forces also engaged in ethnic cleansing during the
war.
• Bosnian Croats expelled a number of Serbs from
Herzegovina, transporting them to Croatia and burning
their homes.
• Most ethnic cleansing was still aimed at Bosniaks though.
• During their attack on Mostar, Bosniaks were placed in
detention camps and evicted from the western part of
the region and neighbouring towns.
• Massacres took place against Bosniaks, with expulsions
and rape for the women, as mentioned before.
• Those killed numbered in the hundreds, but at least
25,000 were expelled from Croat-controlled regions.
War Crimes in Bosnia
(Continued)
• In 1994, the U.N. Security Council’s report on the war
claimed that Bosniaks, too, engaged in “grave breaches of
the Geneva Conventions and other violations of
international humanitarian law”.
• However, the report claimed that there was no “systemic
ethnic cleansing”, as took place against them.
• At times, Serbs were expelled by Bosniak forces, in
villages such as Konjic and Gorazade, where many were
also placed under house arrest.
• Croats were also subject to similar sporadic expulsions
between 1993-1994.
• Kazani Pit Killings- led by mobster/paramilitary leader
Musan Toplavic; 150-200 Serbs murdered, 16 Bosniak
soldiers arrested by their own government ad Toplavic
was killed for it. The killing was condemned.
War Crimes
• According to a report compiled by the
U.N., all sides committed war crimes
during the conflict.

in Bosnia
• Ninety percent were attributed to Serb
forces.
• Six percent were attributed to Croat

(Continued)
forces.
• Four percent were attributed to Bosniak
forces.
NATO Involvement in
Bosnia
• Because of concerns around war crimes committed by
the Republika Srpska, the U.N. requested NATO intervene
to protect dedicated “safe areas” which Serb forces had
explicitly stated they would target.
• The immediate factor preceding NATO’s involvement was
the mortar attack on the markale in the historic core of
Sarajevo, which targeted civilians, killing 68 and
wounding 144.
• NATO targeted Serb military infrastructure and the
intervention resulted in 25-27 casualties.
• NATO involvement influenced Serb forces (in both
Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska) to return to
negotiations and in December, 1995, the Dayton Accords
were signed, ending the war.
Road to War in
Kosovo
• Kosovo was (and is still claimed to be) an autonomous
province of Serbia, but was never a republic in
Yugoslavia.
• The majority was and is ethnically Albanian.
• When the economy crashed in the 1980s, Kosovo was
the hardest hit region in the country.
• As in other regions, ethnic nationalism began to flare up
in Kosovo, with protests and demonstrations against the
Yugoslav government and the perceived dominance of
Serbs becoming more common.
• Because of rising nationalism, Serbian President
Milosevic revoked Kosovo’s autonomy in 1988, along
with that of Vojvodina.
Road to War in
Kosovo (Continued)
• In June 1990, Serbia barred access to the Kosovo
Assembly.
• 114 ethnic Albanian delegates (out of 180 total)
gathered in front of the assembly and declared Kosovo a
republic within Yugoslavia, seceding from Serbia, but
remaining in the federation.
• In response, Serbia totally dissolved the Kosovo
Assembly and took direct and complete control over the
region.
• Albanian-language T.V. and radio broadcast were
banned, most Albanian-language schools were closed,
and the main Albanian-language newspaper was
suspended due to its contents being “unconstitutional”.
Road to War in
Kosovo
(Continued)
• In the seven years following, about 350,000
ethnic Albanians left Kosovo due to economic
and social pressures.
• Milosevic encouraged greater Serb settlement
in Kosovo, with many displaced Serbs from
Croatia and Bosnia being resettled in Kosovo,
sometimes against their will.
• In 1993, the U.N. reported that police had
intensified repression of the Albanian
population, including by depriving them of
basic rights, destroying their education system,
and conducting a large number of political
dismissals of civil servants.
• It was estimated that, by 1998, Kosovar
Albanians had a 70% unemployment rate, as
they were dismissed from their jobs and
replaced by Serbs.
The K.L.A.
• The Kosovo Liberation Army carried out
targeted attacks on Serb security personnel
throughout Kosovo in April, 1996.
• The goals of the K.L.A. were to stop repression
of Kosovar Albanians and to establish a
“Greater Albania” in areas inhabited by ethnic
Albanians.
• While the government of Kosovo (in exile) was
open-minded and had committed to upholding
minority rights of Serbs in Kosovo, the K.L.A.
insisted that any Serbs with “blood on their
hands” would have to leave.
• Regarded as a terrorist organization by
Yugoslavia, not by the West.
Road to War in
Kosovo (Continued)
• In early 1997, Albania collapsed into chaos as the
President was ousted. Armouries of the Albanian Armed
Forces were looted by organized crime gangs at this time,
and many pieces of military hardware ended up in
Kosovo, contributing to the K.L.A.’s stockpile.
• The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kosovo were
formed; rival to K.L.A., then merged together.
• In December, 1997, the Peace Implementation Council
met in Bonn and gave sweeping powers to the U.N. High
Representative in Bosnia.
• During this meeting, Western diplomats insisted that
Kosovo be discussed and that Yugoslavia be responsive to
the demands of the ethnically Albanian population.
• The delegation from Yugoslavia left the meeting in
protest.
War Begins
• Serbian police were pursuing K.L.A. leader Adem Jashari
for the murder of a Serbian police officer.
• The pursuit eventually led to Jashari’s family home,
where a firefight broke out.
• According to Yugoslavia, Jashari used members of his
family, including children and the elderly as human
shields, though this was disputed by survivors and
witnesses who claim Yugoslav authorities targeted them.
• Between 50-60 civilian members of Jashari’s extended
family were killed, along with Jashari himself, his brother
(also a militant), and 26 other K.L.A. fighters.
• Evidence gathered later indicated that the Serb police had
intended to eliminate Jashari and his civilian family
members, not only to arrest him.
War Crimes in Kosovo
• Destruction of Albanian cultural and
Muslim religious sites- 225 of 498
mosques in Kosovo were damaged or
destroyed.
• Libraries and archives belonging to the
Islamic Community of Kosovo (records
spanning over 500 years) were
destroyed intentionally.
• Non-Serb architecture was intentionally
destroyed over the course of the war.
 War Crimes in
Kosovo (Continued)
• Identity cleansing- stripping expelled Albanians of their legal documents, personal property, citizenship; made return difficult
or impossible.
• Many massacres of Albanian civilians:
• Meja (377+)
• Pastasel (106)
• Vucitrn (100+)
• Velika Krusa (98)
• Izbica (93)
• Also allegations of mass rape at many of these massacres.
• Milosevic specifically instructed corpses that could be of interest to the I.C.J. be removed.
• Many were disposed of and allegedly cremated, some thrown in the Danube, and at least 800 were buried in Serbia proper.
• In all, between 7,000-9,000 were killed as the result of ethnic cleansing by Serb forces.
• 850,000 were expelled from Kosovo.
• 590,000 forced from their homes.
• 10,000-20,000 women and girls were raped.
 War Crimes in
Kosovo (Continued)
• The K.L.A. also participated in sporadic war crimes.
• In some areas, ethnic Serbs were driven from their homes.
• Massacres of civilians:
• Gnjilane (51)
• Orahovac (47)
• Lake Rodanjic (34)
• Volujak (25)
 War Crimes in
Kosovo (Continued)
• Those civilians executed by the K.L.A. also included Romani, Albanians, and at least one
ethnic Bulgarian.
• Around 10% of the K.L.A. was made up of those under the age of 18.
• These were mainly girls recruited to cook for the soldiers than to actually fight.
• Serbia claims that 847 (both civilians and security personnel) were killed by the K.L.A.,
1,154 were kidnapped, and “tens of thousands” were expelled.
NATO Intervention
• Yugoslavia’s ethnic cleansing in Kosovo was widely
condemned by the international community,
including by the U.N., NATO, and various N.G.O.s.
• A NATO-facilitated ceasefire was broken in
October 1998 and after the Racak Massacre in
January, 1999, where 45 Kosovar Albanians were
killed, NATO decided that a military peacekeeping
force was necessary to restrain the two sides.
• After Yugoslavia refused to sign the Rambouillet
Accords, which called for 30,000 NATO
peacekeepers to be stationed in Kosovo, NATO
went to the U.N. to get authorization to intervene
militarily.
• This was vetoed by Russia and China.
 • The stated goals of the NATO intervention were as follows:
• An end to all military action and the immediate termination of violence and

NATO repressive activities by the Milošević government.

• Withdrawal of all military, police and paramilitary forces from Kosovo.

Intervention • Stationing of UN peacekeeping presence in Kosovo.

• Unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons.

(Continued) • Establishment of a political framework agreement for Kosovo based on Rambouillet

Accords, in conformity with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
NATO
Intervention
(Continued)
• The intervention lasted between March 24 th and June 10th,
1999.
• Involved 1,000 aircraft operating out of Italy and Germany,
as well as the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.
• Over 38,000 combat missions.
• After only three days, NATO had destroyed almost all
strategic military targets in Yugoslavia, but Yugoslav forces
continued their offensive in Kosovo.
• To put pressure on Yugoslavia to withdraw, NATO began
targeting economic and government infrastructure.
• Included bridges, military facilities, government facilities,
factories, power plants, water-processing plants, and the
state-owned broadcaster.
• Human Rights Watch claimed that 489-528 civilians were
killed in the campaign.
Outcome
• In June, a Finnish-Russian mediation team traveled
to Belgrade and met with Milosevic.
• Yugoslavia agreed to withdraw from Kosovo, under
heavy pressure from Russia, after NATO agreed that
Kosovo would be politically supervised by the U.N.
and that they would not hold an independence
referendum for three years.
• On June 11th, Russian paratroopers seized Slatina
airport, becoming the first U.N. peacekeepers in
Kosovo.
• U.S. troops entered Kosovo on the next day.
• Milosevic was indicted for war crimes by the I.C.J.
and Yugoslavia became a pariah, as he was not able
to leave the country without facing arrest.
 • From June, 1999, Kosovo was placed under U.N. administration, with the local Kosovar government being
responsible for police and justice as well as civil administration, under U.N. supervision.
• It was not considered independent and was internationally recognized as autonomous within Yugoslavia.
Kosovo • In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia (Yugoslavia ceased to exist with the independence of
Montenegro in 2006).
Afterwards • 109/120 of members of the Kosovo Assembly voted in favour of independence.
• Serbia decried the declaration as illegal under international law and tried to gain international support.
• The I.C.J. ruled that it did not violate international law.
Kosovo Now
• Kosovo has been recognized as independent by
104 of the U.N.’s 193 members.
• It now functions as an independent country but is
still claimed by Serbia.
• The E.U. plays a large role in mediating between
Serbia and Kosovo, as normalization of relations is
considered a prerequisite for E.U. membership for
either, which they both are pursuing.
• Sporadic tensions, stand-offs, and occasional
violence still occurs in Serb-majority municipalities
in northern Kosovo when the Kosovar government
attempts to exercise its authority.