NATO operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992?2004
The
NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina
was a series of actions undertaken by
NATO
whose stated aim was to establish long-term peace during and after the
Bosnian War
.
[1]
NATO's intervention began as largely political and symbolic, but gradually expanded to include large-scale air operations and the deployment of approximately 60,000 soldiers of the
Implementation Force
.
Early involvement and monitoring
[
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]
NATO
involvement in the
Bosnian War
and the
Yugoslav Wars
in general began in February 1992, when the alliance issued a statement urging all the belligerents in the conflict to allow the deployment of
United Nations peacekeepers
. While primarily symbolic, this statement paved the way for later NATO actions.
[2]
On July 10, 1992, at a meeting in
Helsinki
, NATO foreign ministers agreed to assist the United Nations in monitoring compliance with sanctions established under
United Nations Security Council
resolutions
713
(1991) and
757
(1992). This led to the commencement of
Operation Maritime Monitor
off the coast of
Montenegro
, which was coordinated with the
Western European Union
Operation Sharp Guard
in the
Strait of Otranto
on July 16.
[3]
On October 9, 1992, the Security Council passed
Resolution 781
, establishing a
no-fly zone
over
Bosnia-Herzegovina
. In response, on October 16, NATO expanded its mission in the area to include
Operation Sky Monitor
, which monitored Bosnian airspace for flights from the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
.
[4]
Enforcing compliance 1992?1993
[
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]
On November 16, 1992, the Security Council issued
Resolution 787
, which called upon member states to "halt all inward and outbound maritime shipping in order to inspect and verify their cargos" to ensure compliance with sanctions.
[5]
In response to this resolution, NATO deactivated Maritime Monitor on November 22, and replaced it with
Operation Maritime Guard
, under which NATO forces were authorized to stop ships and inspect their cargos. Unlike Sky Monitor and Maritime Monitor, this was a true enforcement mission, not just a monitoring one.
[2]
NATO's air mission also switched from monitoring to enforcement. The Security Council issued
Resolution 816
, which authorized states to use measures "to ensure compliance" with the no-fly zone over Bosnia.
[6]
In response, on April 12, 1993, NATO initiated
Operation Deny Flight
which was tasked with enforcing the no-fly zone, using fighter aircraft based in the region.
[7]
Throughout 1993, the role of NATO forces in Bosnia gradually grew. On June 10, 1993, NATO and the UN agreed that aircraft acting under Deny Flight would provide
close air support
to
UNPROFOR
at the request of the UN. On June 15, NATO integrated Operation Maritime Guard and Western European Union naval activities in the region into
Operation Sharp Guard
, and expanded its role to include greater enforcement powers.
Growing role of air power 1994
[
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]
On February 28, 1994, the scope of NATO involvement in Bosnia increased dramatically. In an
incident near Banja Luka
, NATO fighters from the
USAF
, operating under Deny Flight, shot down four Serb jets. This was the first combat operation in the history of NATO and opened the door for a steadily growing NATO presence in Bosnia.
[8]
In April, the presence of NATO airpower continued to grow during a Serb attack on
Gora?de
. In response, NATO launched its first close air support mission on April 10, 1994, bombing several Serb targets at the request of UN commanders.
[9]
Operations in 1995 and Operation Deliberate Force
[
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]
NATO continued its air operations over Bosnia in the first half of 1995. During this period, American pilot
Scott O'Grady
was
shot down over Bosnia
by a
surface-to-air missile
fired by Bosnian Serb soldiers. He was eventually rescued safely, but his downing caused concern in the United States and other NATO countries about NATO
air superiority
in Bosnia and prompted some calls for more aggressive NATO action to eliminate Serb anti-air capabilities.
Srebrenica and the London Conference
[
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]
In July 1995, the Bosnian Serbs launched an attack on the Bosnian town of
Srebrenica
, ending with the deaths of approximately 8,000 civilians in the
Srebrenica massacre
. After the events at Srebrenica, 16 nations met at the London Conference, beginning on July 21, 1995, to consider new options for Bosnia. As a result of the conference, UN Secretary General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
gave General
Bernard Janvier
, the UN military commander, the authority to request NATO airstrikes without consulting civilian UN officials, as a way to streamline the process.
[10]
As a result of the conference, the
North Atlantic Council
and the UN also agreed to use NATO air strikes in response to attacks on any of the other safe areas in Bosnia. The participants at the conference also agreed in principle to the use of large-scale NATO air strikes in response to future acts of aggression by Serbs.
[11]
Operation Deliberate Force
[
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]
After the London Conference, NATO planned an aggressive new air campaign against the Bosnian Serbs. On August 28, 1995, Serb forces
launched a mortar shell at the Sarajevo marketplace
killing 37 people. Admiral
Leighton Smith
, the NATO commander recommended that NATO launch retaliatory air strikes under
Operation Deliberate Force
.
[12]
On August 30, 1995, NATO officially launched Operation Deliberate Force with large-scale bombing of Serb targets. The airstrikes lasted until September 20, 1995 and involved attacks on 338 individual targets.
Dayton Accords and IFOR
[
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]
Largely as a result of the bombing under
Operation Deliberate Force
and changes in the battlefield situation, the belligerents in the Bosnian War met in
Dayton, Ohio
in November 1995, and signed the
Dayton Accords
, a peace treaty. As part of the accords, NATO agreed to provide 60,000 troops to deploy to the region, as part of the
Implementation Force
(IFOR), U.S. designation Operation Joint Endeavor. These forces remained deployed until December 1996, when those remaining in the region were transferred to the
Stabilization Force
(SFOR). SFOR peacekeepers remained in Bosnia until 2004.
References
[
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]
- ^
Kay, Sean (1998-01-01).
NATO and the Future of European Security
. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 87.
ISBN
9780847690015
.
- ^
a
b
"JFC Naples/AFSOUTH, 1951-2009: OVER FIFTY YEARS WORKING FOR PEACE AND STABILITY"
.
Allied Joint Forces Command Naples
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-09-27.
- ^
"Operation Maritime Monitor"
.
GlobalSecurity.org
.
- ^
"United Nations Resolution 757 (1992)"
. May 30, 1992. 6.a.
- ^
"Resolution 787"
(PDF)
.
- ^
"Resolution 816"
(PDF)
.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
. UN Security Council
. Retrieved
2009-02-17
.
- ^
Beale, Michael.
Bombs over Bosnia: The Role of Airpower in Bosnia-Herzegovina
.
Air University Press
, 1997. p. 19
- ^
Beale, Michael.
Bombs over Bosnia: The Role of Airpower in Bosnia-Herzegovina
. Air University Press, 1997. p. 2-3
- ^
Gordon, Michael (April 11, 1994).
"Conflict in the Balkans: NATO; Modest Air Operation in Bosnia Crosses a Major Political Frontier"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
17 February
2009
.
- ^
Beale, Michael.
Bombs over Bosnia: The Role of Airpower in Bosnia-Herzegovina
. Air University Press, 1997. p. 34
- ^
Bucknam, Mark.
Responsibility of Command
. Air University Press, 2003.
ISBN
1-58566-115-5
p. 253
- ^
Davis, Bradley. "The Planning Background".
Deliberate Force
. Air University Press, 2000.
ISBN
1-58566-076-0
Further reading
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