20 years since NATO’s first major peacekeeping operation

20 Dec. 2015 -
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Last updated: 17 Dec. 2015 17:59

After the break-up of Yugoslavia during the early 1990s, multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina was thrown into bloody and protracted conflict.

Six days after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relieving the UN peacekeeping force in place since 1992. IFOR consisted of 50,000 troops provided by NATO member countries and 10,000 troops provided by non-NATO contributors.

NATO first became involved in the Bosnian conflict in 1992, at the request of the United Nations (UN), to enforce economic sanctions, an arms embargo and a no-fly zone. These measures helped reduce the fighting and save lives, but proved insufficient to end the conflict.

In February 1994, after a deadly mortar attack on a Sarajevo market place, the UN asked NATO to conduct airstrikes against Bosnian Serb air defences, command and control installations and ammunitions facilities. These airstrikes were instrumental in bringing the parties to the negotiating table at Dayton, Ohio (United States) and ending the war.

On 20 December 1995, just six days after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated Implementation Force (IFOR). It was NATO’s first major peacekeeping operation.

High resolution photos

- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 11 July 1995 - As violence increased, so did the flow of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat refugees. (Refugees - Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation The Army of Republika Srpska targeted civilians during the Siege of Sarajevo, which started in spring 1992. ''I never believed war was going to come here. And then one day they started, somebody just pressed a button and they started.'' Maja Marjanović, Supervisor, Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation Young boys play in the ruins of Sarajevo.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation In August 1995, to put an end to Serb-led violence, UN peacekeepers requested NATO airstrikes. This operation was a key factor in bringing the parties to the negotiating table at Dayton and ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A US F-15 fighter jet takes off for Bosnia and Herzegovina from the NATO base in Aviano, Italy.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 14 December 1995 - Signature of the Dayton Peace Agreement in Paris, in the presence of Slobodan Milosevic, Alija Izetbegovic, Franjo Tudman, Felipe Gonzalez, Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac, Helmut Kohl, John Major and Viktor Chernomyrdin.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation Six days after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relieving the UN peacekeeping force in place since 1992. IFOR consisted of 50,000 troops provided by NATO member countries and 10,000 troops provided by non-NATO contributors.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation IFOR's main mission was to provide the military forces needed to implement the peace agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, prevent the conflict from spreading, support the efforts of the international community and the United Nations, end the humanitarian crisis, and help create the right conditions for restructuring the country. An elderly woman jokes with an Italian soldier as she walks by an IFOR checkpoint.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 20 December 1995 - The UN Commander for the former Yugoslavia, French General Bernard Janvier (R), shakes hands with US Admiral Leighton W. Smith (L) during the official ceremony for the handover of UN duties to NATO, as UN Special Representative Kofi Annan (C) watches. (Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 21 December 1995 - An American soldier has an IFOR armband put on his uniform after arriving at Sarajevo airport. (Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation The NATO countries participating in IFOR were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation Non-NATO contributing countries were Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine. - Romanian troops.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation IFOR brought together NATO and non-NATO countries in an unprecedented coalition for peace involving 36 states. A Ukrainian soldier providing security outside the city of Tuzla.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation With some 1,600 troops, Russia contributed the largest non-NATO contingent to the NATO-led peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russian Colonel Aleksandr Lentsov (R), commander of Russian troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, discusses deployment plans with US Major John Bushyhead at the Russian base in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Reuters Pictures - 15 January 1996)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina showing the entity boundary line and IFOR divisional boundaries.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 26 December 1995 - French NATO soldiers disarm an anti-tank mine in the district of Stup, a front-line area of Sarajevo. (Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 19 January 1996 - The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General George Joulwan, points to a map of Bosnia and Herzegovina as he briefs journalists at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on the progress of the peace implementation plan. Just 30 days into the operation, all military objectives had been met. (Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation The IFOR mission also attached particular importance to reconstruction. British Royal Engineers build permanent bridges clear of the water, on good foundations, to re-open the route to heavy traffic.
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation 16 Oct. 2015 Often, construction teams would uncover mass graves bearing witness to the violence that had been perpetrated. A forensic specialist sits at the top of a mass grave. ''The individuals are attired in civilian clothing, many of them have wires around their wrists.'' - William Haglund, forensic consultant
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation On 11 July 1996, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued international arrest warrants against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic (R) and his military commander Ratko Mladic (L), on charges of genocide and war crimes. (Reuters Pictures)
- 20 years since NATO's first major peacekeeping operation As the situation evolved, IFOR was replaced by a new Stabilisation Force (SFOR) on 20 December 1996. A US Army sergeant prepares to change the Implementation Force acronym, IFOR, to the Stabilisation Force acronym, SFOR. SFOR was made up of approximately 30,000 personnel.