Heightened Tensions in Bosnia as NATO Prepares to Respond to Serbian Air Attacks

Strategic Insights -

Tensions in Bosnia are at a boiling point as nationalist Serb forces advance against the Bosnian Army near the town of Bihac, prompting the United Nations to put peacekeepers on high alert across the country. The situation in Bihac is described as "critical" by Bosnia's Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic, who reports that Serbs, backed by tanks, have retaken the village of Veliki Skocaj. The village is located just south of the Bihac enclave, which has been designated a "safe area" by the United Nations.

Key Takeaways:

  • At least 9 people were killed and 15 wounded in the northwestern town of Cazin on Saturday when a Serbian warplane bombed an apartment building, and another crashed into a crowded apartment building with refugees.
  • The United Nations Security Council unanimously authorized NATO to attack the Serbian air base in Udbina, Croatia, in response to the air attacks on Bihac.
  • United Nations peacekeepers are on high alert, fearing that the Serbs might retaliate against them if NATO strikes.
  • The Bosnian Serbs' military command claims that their forces have recaptured all the territory around Bihac taken by the Bosnian Army last month, but Bosnian officials deny this assertion.
  • United Nations officials have reported that the Serbs are occasionally shelling the "safe area" itself, and that civilians in the enclave have stoned United Nations vehicles and threatened United Nations personnel.
  • Heavy fighting is reported on Grabez, a strategic plateau just east of the enclave where a Bosnian Serb advance has apparently stalled.
  • The United Nations refugee organization has barred its workers from territory controlled by the Bosnian Serbs, and United States diplomats have advised American citizens not to travel in Serb-controlled areas.

Statistics:

  • At least 9 people were killed in the northwestern town of Cazin on Saturday.
  • 15 people were wounded in the northwestern town of Cazin on Saturday.
  • 70 machine-gun rounds were fired by British peacekeepers in response to an attack by Serbs on British troops in Gorazde.
  • The village of Veliki Skocaj is located just south of the Bihac enclave.
  • The Serbian air base in Udbina, Croatia was attacked by NATO in response to the air attacks on Bihac.

Sources:

  • "The situation is critical in Bihac," said Bosnia's Prime Minister, Haris Silajdzic.
  • Lieut. Col. Jan-Dirk von Merveldt, a United Nations military spokesman, said that the Bosnian Serb side "appeared to be respecting the 'safe area' of Bihac for the most part."
  • Colonel J. C. Lemieux, the military force's senior commander, issued an appeal to his superiors to retaliate for the Serbian air strikes on Friday and Saturday.
  • The United Nations refugee organization barred its workers from territory controlled by the Bosnian Serbs.
  • United States diplomats advised American citizens not to travel in Serb-controlled areas.
  • The United Nations Security Council unanimously authorized NATO to attack the Serbian air base in Udbina, Croatia.