September 5, 1995 -- 10:30 a.m. EDT
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- NATO warplanes blasted Bosnian Serb targets close to Sarajevo on Tuesday, sending huge clouds of smoke into the sky and abruptly ending a four-day period of grace marked by Serb stalling. In Sarajevo, residents took to the streets with binoculars, watching the closest and most dramatic strikes since the United Nations decided to drive Bosnian Serb artillery from its siege positions above the city .
Defiant as ever, Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic said his forces will strike back.
The attacks began at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) and now another round of strikes has been initiated. To pound the Serbs, Rapid Reaction Forces on the ground joined NATO planes from a variety of bases, including the U.S. air base at Aviano, Italy, and the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier, stationed in the Adriatic Sea. Massive bombs sent shock vibrations into the civilian areas, and the sound of sirens filled the air. (183K .aiff sound file)
CNN Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, live from Sarajevo, describes the first wave of NATO strikes. (183K .aiff sound file)
Amanpour comments on whether the size of the strike will
rival NATO's last attacks. (400K .aiff sound file)
NATO forces reportedly have struck a vital communications tower near Pale, cutting most phone and TV links betwen the Serb stronghold and the outside world. An unnamed Serb military source relayed that information to the Reuters news agency.
NATO spokesman Navy Capt. Jim Mitchell said the decision to
strike was made after the Bosnian Serbs failed to show they
would comply with U.N. demands to remove military threats
against Sarajevo. Mitchell said details about intended
targets and the scope of the operation will come later.
However, he did comment on the variety of international
forces involved. (200K .aiff sound file)
The United Nations says the air strikes will continue until it's clear that all Serb artillery is being withdrawn from the 20-kilometer zone around Sarajevo. NATO said that while some movement of weapons in the zone was observed overnight, U.N. and NATO commanders agreed the movements were "not significant" and therefore judged the Bosnian Serbs had "failed to comply."
A NATO statement said, "The consequences of failure have been
repeatedly made clear by the North Atlantic Council and the
United Nations and communicated directly to the Bosnia Serbs
by the U.N. Peace Force commander."
NATO said the objective of the renewed bombing "remains attaining the compliance of the Bosnian Serbs." NATO and the U.N. have demanded the Serbs: cease attacks on Sarajevo; withdraw heavy weapons from the total exclusion zone around Sarajevo; provide complete freedom of movement for U.N. forces and personnel and non-governmental organizations; and provide unrestricted use of the Sarajevo airport.
The NATO deadline for the Serbs to pull heavy weapons away
from the city expired Monday at 11 p.m. (2100 GMT, 5 p.m.
EDT), and NATO had initially warned of immediate reprisals if
its demands were not met by the Serbs. But the hour came
and went with minimal movements by the rebels and no response
by NATO. As late as Tuesday morning local time, NATO jets
continued to scour for evidence that the Serbs were
withdrawing heavy weapons from around the city.
The renewed raids were in danger of not coming off because the United Nations "was going soft," a senior administraton official told CNN. The official said that NATO Secretary- General Willy Claes was responsible for bringing U.N. officials back around and opening the way for the NATO bombing.
NATO said it regrets that it has had to use force to get the Bosnian Serbs to comply with its demands. In a formal statement however, NATO said, "Now no one must doubt our resolve to see this matter through."
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