26 Years Ago NATO Began Bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

According to data from the Serbian Ministry of Defense, during the 78 days of bombing, 1,031 members of the military and police were killed, along with approximately 2,500 civilians, including 89 children. Approximately 6,000 civilians were wounded, among them 2,700 children, while 25 people are still listed as missing.

As presented to the global public, the justification for the intervention was the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, specifically the severe humanitarian crisis in the region. The order for the attack was issued by the then-NATO Secretary General Javier Solana to U.S. General Wesley Clark.

The negotiations in Rambouillet ended in failure, and after the Serbian Parliament confirmed that it would not accept the deployment of foreign troops on its territory – while proposing that the United Nations oversee a peaceful resolution in Kosovo and Metohija – NATO launched airstrikes.

On April 23, the building of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade was hit, resulting in the deaths of 16 people and the same number of injured.

Foto: Srđan Ilić

NATO denied having suffered any losses. The remains of downed aircraft are preserved in the Aviation Museum in Belgrade. Notably, an F-117 stealth aircraft, previously regarded as a symbol of U.S. technological superiority, was shot down and crashed in a field near the Srem village of Budjanovci.

The NATO bombing campaign ended following the signing of the Military-Technical Agreement in Kumanovo on June 9, 1999. Three days after the agreement was signed, the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and Metohija began.

The agreement mandated the establishment of a United Nations mission, UNMIK. The UN Security Council subsequently adopted Resolution 1244.

Preuzmite Newsmax Balkans aplikaciju:

Pratite nas na društvenim mrežama:

Komentari (0)