NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

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 codename for this operation was Operation Allied Force. The bombings forced the Yugoslav troops to withdrew 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 the United Nations' approval, many people are skeptical about the operation 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. This caused mass protests and demonstrations in China, US President Bill Clinton had apologized and gave financial compensation. The US defence secretary explained that the bombing instructions were based on an outdated map, the Chinese government did not accept this explanation and later issued a statement, calling this bombing a "barbarian act".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 taking place during the Yugoslav Wars.

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

After that, Albanians from Kosovo began protesting against Belgrade when Kosovo's Liberation Army (KLA) was established in 1996. The military conflict between two sides started in early 1998. A ceasefire created by NATO was signed on 15 October, but both sides violated it two months later and continued fighting. After the Račak massacre had been widely reported, in which 45 people were killed, NATO decided that the conflict had 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 embassy's damage in late 1999. 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.

 References 

Category:1999 events
Category:1990s in Europe
Category:1999 in Europe
Category:20th century in Serbia