Sputnik Africa looks back at the tragic events that occurred on the territory of present-day Serbia, and tries to understand their possible causes.
In the late 1990s, Yugoslavia was a state in Southeast Europe consisting of Serbia and Montenegro. Kosovo at that time was a province of Serbia, with an Albanian majority living in it. Before 1989, it had a special autonomous status.
It is important to take into account that Yugoslavia itself was formed after the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia in 1991-1992 from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The collapse of the SFRY was accompanied by interethnic conflicts and civil wars. The ongoing armed conflict in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina complicated the international situation of Yugoslavia.
The state of affairs in Yugoslavia was complicated by the situation in Kosovo. In September 1991, under the conditions of the collapse of the SFRY, Kosovo Albanians illegally established the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo and elected Ibrahim Rugova as “president”.
Attempts made by the Serbian authorities in 1995 to reach a compromise with the Albanians were unsuccessful. Then, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was illegally created in the region, which unleashed terror against the authorities and the local Serb population.
Attempts made by the Serbian authorities in 1995 to reach a compromise with the Albanians were unsuccessful. Then, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was illegally created in the region, which unleashed terror against the authorities and the local Serb population.
In the spring of 1998, violence in Kosovo continued to escalate. Serbian security forces launched an offensive against KLA militant bases. Yugoslavia began negotiations with Rugova on normalizing the situation in the region, repeatedly emphasizing its readiness to grant Kosovo broad rights of national autonomy within Serbia and guarantee the equal status of all national communities in the region.
In February 1999, an unsuccessful attempt was made to establish negotiations between the Yugoslav delegation and the leaders of Kosovo with the participation of international mediators. The West laid the responsibility for their failure on Belgrade, although the latter was ready to continue the dialogue.
The official reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the presence of Serbian troops on the territory of the region of Kosovo and Metohija. Yugoslav authorities were also accused of ethnic cleansing, although this was refuted by an investigation done by experts from Belarus, Finland and Serbia in the presence of representatives of the mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The military operation against Yugoslavia, which lasted 78 days, involved 19 NATO countries in one form or another.
It is important to note that during the airstrikes (NATO carried out more than 38,000 combat missions), prohibited types of ammunition with radioactive impurities, mainly depleted uranium, were used, as well as cluster bombs and shells with graphite-electromagnetic charging, which were dropped on local thermal power plants and energy facilities. The latter caused black acid rain, and oil, petroleum products and toxic substances poisoned the water system of Yugoslavia and other countries of the Balkan Peninsula.
However, along with military targets, civilian industrial enterprises, airports, bridges, residential buildings, schools and kindergartens were also bombed.
The bombing stopped on June 9, 1999, after representatives of the Yugoslav army and NATO signed a military-technical agreement on the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops and police from the territory of Kosovo and on the deployment of international armed forces in the region.
The number of military and civilians killed during the operation has not yet been precisely established. According to Serbian authorities, about 2,500 people died, including 89 children, while more than 6,000 people were injured. At the same time, according to official NATO data, the alliance lost two servicemen.
Relations between Serbia and Kosovo remain difficult. Kosovo's independence is not recognized by Serbia, Russia, China, Iran, Spain, Greece and a number of other states. Moscow's position is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which establishes the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Serbia is the legal successor.