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Soldiers

France Calls for Urgent UN Meeting to Discuss Peacekeeper Safety in Bosnia

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

France has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the deteriorating security conditions for UN peacekeepers in Bosnia, following the killings of two French soldiers last week. Prime Minister Edouard Balladur warned that France will withdraw its troops if certain conditions are not met, including the respect and extension of the ceasefire, the resumption of negotiations, and the reinforcement of security measures for peacekeepers.

Key Takeaways:

  • France has been the largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia, with 4,500 troops, more than half of them stationed around Sarajevo.
  • The killing of two French peacekeepers last week has brought the total number of French troops killed in the former Yugoslavia since 1992 to 33.
  • France has threatened to withdraw its troops from Bosnia if the UN Security Council does not take measures to ensure the safety of peacekeepers.
  • The French government has demanded the respect and extension of the ceasefire, the resumption of negotiations, and the reinforcement of security measures for UN peacekeepers.
  • A French peacekeeper was shot and killed by a sniper on Friday in a housing complex near Sarajevo airport, and a second French soldier was killed Saturday in Sarajevo's 'sniper alley' while operating a forklift to fortify an anti-sniper barricade.
  • Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will meet UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and representatives of the contact group in New York this week to discuss the situation.
  • The contact group, comprising the US, France, Britain, Germany, and Russia, has been attempting to find a peaceful solution to the war in Bosnia.

Statistics:

  • 4,500: The number of French troops deployed in Bosnia as part of the UN peacekeeping force.
  • 2: The number of French soldiers killed by snipers last week in Bosnia.
  • 33: The total number of French troops killed in the former Yugoslavia since 1992.
  • April 30: The date when the 4-month-old ceasefire in Bosnia-Herzegovina is set to expire.

Sources:

  • The New York Times, citing a statement by Prime Minister Edouard Balladur
  • Reuters, citing a news conference by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe
  • Associated Press, citing a UN spokesman Joe Sills.

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