NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Part of the Kosovo War and the Yugoslav Wars

The city of Novi Sad in 1999
Date24 March – 10 June 1999 (2 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Yugoslavia
Result
  • NATO victory[1]
  • Kumanovo Agreement
  • Establishment and deployment of KFOR[2][3][4][5]
  • Withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo and Metohija
  • Establishment of UNMIK
  • Substantial damage to Yugoslav economy and infrastructure[6][7][8]
  • Return of Albanian refugees to Kosovo
  • Departure of many Serb and other non-Albanian civilians[9][10][11][12]
Territorial
changes		 UN Resolution 1244; de facto separation of Kosovo from Yugoslavia under UN temporary administration
Belligerents
  FR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
John W. Hendrix
Strength
NATO:
  • 1,031+ aircraft
  • 30 warships & submarines
  • Task Force Hawk
  • 114,000 regulars
  • 20,000 police
  • 1,270 tanks
  • 825 armoured vehicles
  • 1,400 artillery pieces
  • 100 SAM launchers
  • 14 modern combat aircraft[13]
Casualties and losses
  • 3 jet fighters destroyed
  • 3 jet fighters damaged
  • 2 helicopters destroyed
  • 46 UAVs destroyed[14]
  • 2 soldiers killed (out of combat)
  • 3 soldiers captured
 2013 Serbian MOD estimate:
  • 1,008 killed (659 servicemen and 349 policemen)
  • 5,173 wounded[15]
Acc. to FHP:
304 soldiers and policemen[16]
Material losses:
NATO estimate:[17]
  • 93 tanks destroyed
  • 153 APCs destroyed
  • 389 artillery pieces destroyed
  • 339 other vehicles destroyed
  • 121 aircraft destroyed
Yugoslav estimate:[17]
  • 13 tanks destroyed
  • 6 APCs destroyed
  • 6 artillery pieces destroyed
Newsweek estimate:[17]
  • 14 tanks destroyed
  • 18 APCs destroyed
  • 20 artillery pieces destroyed
Human Rights Watch estimate: 489–528 civilians killed (60% of whom were in Kosovo)
Yugoslav estimate: 1,200–2,000 civilians killed and about 6,000 civilians wounded[18]
FHP: 218 Albanians, 204 Serbs and 30 others[16]
3 Chinese citizens killed in NATO's bombing of China's embassy in Belgrade

From 24 March to 10 June 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had carried out many bombing operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. NATO's code name for this operation was Operation Allied Force. The bombings forced the Yugoslav troops to withdraw from Kosovo. Around 10,000 Yugoslav civilians and soldiers were killed and injured. This was NATO's second biggest bombing operation since 1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because NATO had used military force without United Nations' approval, many people are skeptical about it whether it was right or not.

During the bombings, the United States accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, killing 3 Chinese journalists and injured 20 others.[19] This caused mass protests and demonstrations in China, US President Bill Clinton has apologized and gave financial compensation.[20][21][22] The US defence secretary explained that it was the bombing instructions were based on an outdated map, the Chinese government did not accept this explanation and later issued a statement, calling this bombing a "barbarian act".

This military event was also took place during the Yugoslav Wars.

Background

In September 1990, after the abolishment of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Kosovo's sovereignty has been affected and faced suppressions from the state. From the early 1990s, Albanian broadcasts and televisions were limited, Albanians from Kosovo have been fired from many different jobs including from banks, hospitals, schools, etc. Many Albanian-Kosovans have been preventing from entering schools in September 1991. Forcing students to learn in their own house.

After that, Albanians from Kosovo began protesting against Belgrade when Kosovo's Liberation Army (KLA) established in 1996. The military conflict between two sides started in early 1998. A ceasefire created by NATO signed on 15 October, but both have violated it two months later and continued fighting. After the Račak massacre has been reported, which killed 45 people, NATO decided that the conflict has to be solved by introducing a peacekeeping force. After the fall of the Rambouillet Agreement on 23 March with Yugoslavia refusing a peacekeeping force, NATO had prepared for an installation of a peacekeeping force.

US bombing of Chinese embassy

On 7 May 1999, one month before the operation ends, the United States bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. US President Bill Clinton apologized and called it an accident. Many Chinese were angered about that and protested outside the US embassy in China, most Chinese believed it was deliberate. The United States agreed to pay China for the damage to the embassy in late 1999. And in May 2000, a major trade bill passed the US House of Representatives which became the United States–China Relations Act of 2000 integrating with China's entry into the World Trade Organization.[23][24][25][26]

References

  1. ↑ References:
    • Stigler, Andrew L. "A clear victory for air power: NATO's empty threat to invade Kosovo." International Security 27.3 (2003): 124–157.
    • Biddle, Stephen. "The new way of war? Debating the Kosovo model." (2002): 138–144.
    • Dixon, Paul. "Victory by spin? Britain, the US and the propaganda war over Kosovo." Civil Wars 6.4 (2003): 83–106.
    • Harvey, Frank P. "Getting NATO's success in Kosovo right: The theory and logic of counter-coercion." Conflict Management and Peace Science 23.2 (2006): pp. 139–158.
  2. ↑ Stigler, Andrew L. "A clear victory for air power: NATO's empty threat to invade Kosovo." International Security 27.3 (2003): pp. 124–157.
  3. ↑ Biddle, Stephen. "The new way of war? Debating the Kosovo model." (2002): 138–144.
  4. ↑ Dixon, Paul. "Victory by spin? Britain, the US and the propaganda war over Kosovo." Civil Wars 6.4 (2003): pp. 83–106.
  5. ↑ Harvey, Frank P. "Getting NATO's success in Kosovo right: The theory and logic of counter-coercion." Conflict Management and Peace Science 23.2 (2006): pp. 139–158.
  6. ↑ Parenti (2000), pp. 198
  7. ↑ "Serbia marks another anniversary of NATO attacks– English– on B92.net". Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Zunes, Stephen (6 July 2009). "The US War on Yugoslavia: Ten Years Later". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Abuses against Serbs and Roma in the new Kosovo". Human Rights Watch. August 1999. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Hudson, Robert; Bowman, Glenn (2012). After Yugoslavia: Identities and Politics Within the Successor States. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 30. ISBN 9780230201316.
  11. ↑ "Kosovo Crisis Update". United Nations High Commission for Refugees. 4 August 1999. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Siobhán Wills (26 February 2009). Protecting Civilians: The Obligations of Peacekeepers. Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-19-953387-9. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  13. ↑ NATOs AirWar for Kosovo, Benjamin S. Lambert
  14. ↑ "Officially confirmed / documented NATO UAV losses". 8 March 2001. Archived from the original on 8 March 2001.
  15. ↑ "Stradalo 1.008 vojnika i policajaca". RTS. 11 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Human losses in NATO bombing (Serbia Kosovo, Montenegro)". FHP. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Grant, Rebecca (1 August 2000). "True Blue: Behind the Kosovo Numbers Game". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  18. ↑ „Шеснаеста годишњица НАТО бомбардовања“ Archived 29 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine, РТС, 24. март 2015.
  19. ↑ "The night the US bombed a Chinese embassy". BBC News. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  20. ↑ "Chinese Embassy Bombing in Belgrade: Compensation Issues". www.everycrsreport.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  21. ↑ "Youth Violence and Embassy Bombing Apology | Video | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  22. ↑ "Final Report to the Prosecutor by the Committee Established to Review the NATO Bombing Campaign Against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  23. ↑ "Vote Smart | Facts For All". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  24. ↑ Vita, Matthew; Eilperin, Juliet (2000-05-25). "House Passes China Trade Bill". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  25. ↑ "Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China". Brookings. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  26. ↑ "China Trade bill (2000 - H.R. 4444)". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2025-07-26.
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