It is known that the Yugoslav military intervened on behalf of Bosnian Serbs in the early stages of the war. But the Guardian now possesses two maps which show the Yugoslav army ready to fight for Bosnia against international peacekeeping forces. The maps, drawn up in 1991, draft an all-out war against Nato or the United Nations, directed from Belgrade. They show the various corps grouped around population centres, especially those with high Serbian populations. Units marked in yellow are Strike Forces, grouped along borders with Croatia where international forces were expected to be deployed.
Units marked in pink are War Formations attached to every corps.
The JNA, the old communist Yugoslav people's army, told the world that it would pull out of Bosnia in May 1992. But an extraordinary internal correspondence between Belgrade and Bosnia shows how the Yugoslav army was stitched into the war, directing the Bosnian Serb military. On the same day, a reply came from Colonel Milan Platina in the Bihac area requesting additional arms for Serbian communities in Bosanski Petrovac, Grahovo, Glamoc and Drvar, all later scenes of ethnic cleansing. Thus entwined with Bosnia's war, the JNA stayed long after its declared May departure date. Muslims from the eastern towns of Visegrad, Zvornik and Foca were driven out or killed by units brought in from Serbian garrisons at Uzice, Novi Sad and Nis.