1995 NATO BOMBING IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The '1995 NATO bombing in Bosnia and Herzegovina' (code-named by NATO '''Operation Deliberate Force''') was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North-Atlantic military organization to undermine the military capability of the Bosnian Serb Army who threatened and attacked UN-designated "safe areas" in Bosnia. The operation was carried out between 30 August and 20 September 1995, involving 400 aircraft and 5000 personnel from 15 nations.
It was initiated by NATO in response to a deteriorating situation. Although planned and approved by the North Atlantic Council in July 1995, the operation was triggered in direct response to the second wave of Markale Massacres on 28 August 1995.
During the campaign, a total of 3515 sorties were flown against 338 individual targets. Aircraft involved in the campaign operated out of Italy and from the U.S. aircraft carriers USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' & USS ''America''. 68% of the bombs used in this campaign were precision-guided munitions. The Bosnian Serb integrated air defence network, comprising of aircraft and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), presented a high-threat environment to the allied air operations. A French Mirage 2000 was shot down by a Serbian SAM on the 30 August 1995.
As a counter to the operation some 400 UNPROFOR peacekeepers were seized by the Bosnian Serb Army and used as human shields at key Bosnian Serb sites.
Also in August, Croatian Forces conducted Operation Storm in the Republic of Serbian Krajina in Croatia, which resulted in the expulsion of the Serb population of several hundred thousand from that area.
The air attacks increased the international pressure on (Milošević’s Serbia/Yugoslavia to take part in negotiations that resulted in the Dayton Peace Agreement.

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External links

Notes

1. NATO Allied Forces (Southern Europe) Factsheet

External links

★ CNN

★ LOUDER THAN WORDS, ''TIME magazine'', 11 September 1995

★ Operation Deliberate Force by John Pike at Globalsecurity.org

★ Official Deliberate Force FactSheet, from NATO’s website