BALKAN PEACE TREATY : Chronology of the Conflict

Here is a timeline of events in former Yugoslav federation since the Communist state collapsed in 1989-90 and began to disintegrate.

1991

June: Slovenia and Croatia proclaim independence. Yugoslav army attacks Slovenia.

July: Yugoslav army withdraws from Slovenia. Serb-Croat skirmishes escalate into war between Croats and rebel Serbs in Croatia.

****

1992

February: U.N. Security Council sends 14,000 peacekeeping troops in Croatia. Bosnia-Herzegovina declares independence. Bosnian Serbs proclaim separate state. Fighting spreads.

April: Bosnian Serbs begin siege of Sarajevo. European Community, followed by United States, recognizes Bosnia.

May: Yugoslav army relinquishes command of its estimated 100,000 troops in Bosnia, effectively creating a Bosnian Serb army.

July: International airlift begins to Sarajevo.

****

1993

March: Bosnian Croats and Muslims begin fighting over 30% of Bosnia not seized by Bosnian Serbs.

April-May: U.N. Security Council declares six “safe areas” for Bosnian Muslims: Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihac, Srebrenica, Zepa and Gorazde.

****

1994

February: Mortar shell slams into downtown marketplace in Sarajevo, killing more than 60 people and wounding about 200 others.

March: Bosnia’s Muslim-led government and Bosnian Croats sign U.S.-brokered accord, ending yearlong war.

November: NATO launches air raids on rebel artillery and missile sites. About 50 aircraft attack a Croatian Serb airfield near Bihac.

****

1995

January: Four-month Bosnian truce takes effect. Bihac is never quiet.

May: NATO attacks Bosnian Serb ammunition depot after rebels fail to remove heavy weapons around Sarajevo. Serbs respond by shelling “safe areas,” including Tuzla, where 71 people are killed and more than 150 injured.

June: U.S. Marines rescue downed pilot of U.S. F-16, NATO approves new rapid-reaction force

July: Serbs capture “safe areas” of Zepa and Srebrenica.

August: After pouring into Bosnia, Croatian troops attack rebel Croatian Serbs’ self-styled capital of Knin and other key areas.

October: President Clinton announces breakthrough; combatants to attend talks in U.S.

November: Clinton announces agreement to end the war.

December: Peace accord signed in Paris.

Sources: Reuters and Associated Press