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Coordinates: 43°43′29″N 21°22′26″E / 43.7247°N 21.37402°E / 43.7247; 21.37402
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{{Short description|1999 airstrike}}
{{Expand Serbian|Масакр у Варварину|date=January 2021}}
{{Expand Serbian|Масакр у Варварину|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
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|partof = [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]]
|partof = [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]]
|subtitle =
|subtitle =
|image =
|image = Varvarinski most.jpg
|image_upright =
|image_upright =
|alt =
|alt =
|caption =
|caption = Bridge after reconstruction
|scope =
|scope =
|type =
|type =
|location = [[Varvarin]]
|location = [[Varvarin]]
|coordinates =
|coordinates = {{coord|display=title,inline}}
|map_type =
|map_type = Serbia
|map_size =
|map_size =
|map_caption =
|map_caption =
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|executed_by = [[NATO]]
|executed_by = [[NATO]]
|outcome =
|outcome =
|casualties =
|casualties = {{unbulleted list
| 10 killed
|fatalities = 10
| 17 severely injured{{sfn|Gärditz|2014|p=87}}
|injuries = Dozens
}}
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Kosovo War}}
The '''Varvarin bridge bombing''' was an aerial bombing executed by [[NATO]] as part of the [[Operation Allied Force]]. Ten people were killed and dozens were injured, all of them civilians.
The '''Varvarin bridge bombing''' was an aerial bombing executed by [[NATO]] as part of the [[Operation Allied Force]]. Ten people were killed and 17 were severely injured, all of them civilians.


== Events ==
== Events ==


On 30 May 1999, as part of the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]], the [[NATO]] bombed a bridge crossing the [[Great Morava|Velika Morava]] river in [[Varvarin]]. It was Sunday and the streets were full of people going to the market or coming back from the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox church]] service for the Holy Trinity that had just finished. At 12:53 p.m., two low-flying [[NATO]] [[F-16]] warplanes fired the first laser-guided bomb against the bridge, killing three people and severely injuring five more. Fourteen minutes after the first strike, as people rushed to the bridge to help the injured, two more bombs were fired. In total, 10 people were killed and dozens were injured.<ref name=it1999/><ref name=dw2003/><ref name=fisk2018/>
On 30 May 1999, as part of the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]], the [[NATO]] bombed a bridge crossing the [[Great Morava|Velika Morava]] river in [[Varvarin]]. It was Sunday and the streets were full of people going to the market or coming back from the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox church]] service for the Holy Trinity that had just finished. Soon after noon, two low-flying [[NATO]] [[F-16]] warplanes fired the first laser-guided bomb strike against the bridge, killing three people and severely injuring five more. A few minutes after the first strike, as people rushed to the bridge to help the injured, two more bombs were fired. In total, 10 civilians were killed and 17 were severely injured.<ref name=it1999/><ref name=dw2003/><ref name=fisk2018/>


The 10 fatal victims were Sanja Milenković (15), Milan Savić (28), Vojkan Stanković (30), Zoran Marinković (33), Stojan Ristić (52), Ratibor Simonović (24), Ružica Simonović (55), Milivoje Ćirić (66), Dragoslav Terzić (67) and Tola Apostolović (74).<ref name=blic2019/>
The 10 fatal victims were Sanja Milenković (15), Milan Savić (28), Vojkan Stanković (30), Zoran Marinković (33), Stojan Ristić (52), Ratibor Simonović (24), Ružica Simonović (55), Milivoje Ćirić (66), Dragoslav Terzić (67) and Tola Apostolović (74).<ref name=blic2019/>

The pilots were American and the military purpose of the operation remains unclear.{{sfn|Gärditz|2014|p=87}}


== Reactions ==
== Reactions ==
[[File:Komemoracija, Varvarin, 2001.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Commemoration of the victims of the Varvarin Massacre]]
[[File:Komemoracija, Varvarin, 2001.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Commemoration of the victims of the bombing]]


NATO spokeperson [[Jamie Shea]] declared that the bridge was a military target. Locals said that the bridge was too narrow for tanks and it was attacked on a clear day instead of during the night, accusing NATO of deliberately killing civilians.<ref name=it1999/>
NATO spokesperson [[Jamie Shea]] declared that the bridge was a military target. Locals said that the bridge was too narrow for tanks and it was attacked on a clear day instead of during the night, accusing NATO of deliberately killing civilians.<ref name=it1999/> After this incident, NATO changed its rules of engagement.{{sfn|Fenrick|2001|p=501}}


== Legal actions ==
== Legal actions ==
In 2003, families of the victims sued NATO in [[Germany]].<ref name=dw2003/> On 13 August 2013, the German [[Federal Constitutional Court]] dismissed the claims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl-nat.nsf/caseLaw.xsp?documentId=7044399B6E5615C0C1257D250049F4A2&action=openDocument&xp_countrySelected=DE&xp_topicSelected=GVAL-992BUB&from=state|title=Varvarin bridge case, Federal Constitutional Court, 13 August 2013|work=International Committee of the Red Cross}}</ref>
In 2003, families of the victims sued the German government in [[Germany]].<ref name=dw2003/> The claimants argued that Germany gave assistance to NATO air operations and claimed compensations. German courts dismissed the right of the families to seek compensations in Germany. First in the regional court of Bonn in 2003, then in the higher regional court of Cologne in 2005 and the [[Federal Court of Justice]] in 2006. The families filed a complaint to the [[Federal Constitutional Court]] in 2007 seeking to reverse previous court decisions. On 13 August 2013, [[Federal Constitutional Court]] dismissed the claims again, arguing that victims of military operations abroad did not have the right for individual compensations.{{sfn|Gärditz|2014|p=86}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl-nat.nsf/caseLaw.xsp?documentId=7044399B6E5615C0C1257D250049F4A2&action=openDocument&xp_countrySelected=DE&xp_topicSelected=GVAL-992BUB&from=state|title=Varvarin bridge case, Federal Constitutional Court, 13 August 2013|work=International Committee of the Red Cross}}</ref>{{sfn|Mehring|2015|p=191}}

== Remembrance ==
Every year on May 30, an official remembrance ceremony is held in Serbia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mod.gov.rs/eng/20137/obelezena-24-godisnjica-stradanja-na-varvarinskom-mostu20137|title=24th anniversary of NATO bombing of civilians on Varvarin Bridge|date=30 May 2023|publisher=Ministry of Defense, Republic of Serbia}}</ref>

The "Sanja Milenković" Fund, established in memory of the youngest victim of the bombing, aimed to provide scholarships for talented students. The fund raised over 200,000 euros and awarded 44 scholarships, but it became inactive due to financial issues, including the bankruptcy of [[Beogradska Banka]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rts.rs/lat/vesti/drustvo/1294306/borba-za-fond-sanje-milenkovic.html|title=Borba za Fond "Sanje Milenković"|date=28 March 2013|work=Radio Television of Serbia|language=sr-latn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114185107/https://www.rts.rs/lat/vesti/drustvo/1294306/borba-za-fond-sanje-milenkovic.html|archive-date=14 January 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
⚫
* [[Civilian casualties during Operation Allied Force]]
⚫
* [[Grdelica train bombing]]
*[[Lužane bus bombing]]
*[[Koriša bombing]]
*[[NATO bombing of Albanian refugees near Gjakova]]


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=it1999>{{Cite news|title=NATO bombers hit town `full of people'|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nato-bombers-hit-town-full-of-people-1.190597|work=The Irish Times|date=31 May 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107111304/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nato-bombers-hit-town-full-of-people-1.190597|archive-date=7 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=it1999>{{Cite news|first=Lara|last=Marlowe|title=NATO bombers hit town 'full of people'|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nato-bombers-hit-town-full-of-people-1.190597|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=31 May 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107111304/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nato-bombers-hit-town-full-of-people-1.190597|archive-date=7 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=dw2003>{{Cite news|title=Serbian Families Sue Germans Over NATO Bombing|url=https://www.dw.com/en/serbian-families-sue-germans-over-nato-bombing/a-997339|work=Deutsche Welle|date=15 October 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000501/https://www.dw.com/en/serbian-families-sue-germans-over-nato-bombing/a-997339|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=dw2003>{{Cite news|title=Serbian Families Sue Germans Over NATO Bombing|url=https://www.dw.com/en/serbian-families-sue-germans-over-nato-bombing/a-997339|work=Deutsche Welle|date=15 October 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000501/https://www.dw.com/en/serbian-families-sue-germans-over-nato-bombing/a-997339|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=fisk2018>{{Cite news|first=Robert|last=Fisk|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/varvarin-nato-bombing-serbia-civilian-deaths-kosovo-war-a8438901.html|title=Nearly two decades on from Nato's deadly bombing of civilians at Varvarin in Serbia, the wait for justice continues|date=9 July 2018|work=The Independent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721194435/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/varvarin-nato-bombing-serbia-civilian-deaths-kosovo-war-a8438901.html|archive-date=21 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=fisk2018>{{Cite news|first=Robert|last=Fisk|author-link=Robert Fisk|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/varvarin-nato-bombing-serbia-civilian-deaths-kosovo-war-a8438901.html|title=Nearly two decades on from Nato's deadly bombing of civilians at Varvarin in Serbia, the wait for justice continues|date=9 July 2018|work=The Independent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721194435/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/varvarin-nato-bombing-serbia-civilian-deaths-kosovo-war-a8438901.html|archive-date=21 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=blic2019>{{Cite news|first=M.|last=Milojković|title=CRNI PIJAČNI DAN Hiljade ljudi izašlo je u centar Varvarina a onda su se usred bela dana SRUČILE NATO BOMBE|url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/crni-pijacni-dan-hiljade-ljudi-izaslo-je-u-centar-varvarina-a-onda-su-se-usred-bela/4sk158b|date=30 May 2019|language=sr-el|work=Blic|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>
<ref name=blic2019>{{Cite news|first=M.|last=Milojković|title=CRNI PIJAČNI DAN Hiljade ljudi izašlo je u centar Varvarina a onda su se usred bela dana SRUČILE NATO BOMBE|url=https://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/crni-pijacni-dan-hiljade-ljudi-izaslo-je-u-centar-varvarina-a-onda-su-se-usred-bela/4sk158b|date=30 May 2019|language=sr-latn|work=Blic|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>
}}
}}


== See also ==
== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
⚫
* [[Civilian casualties during Operation Allied Force]]
* {{Cite report|author=[[Human Rights Watch]]|year=2000|title=Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/natbm002.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210025555/https://www.hrw.org/reports/natbm002.pdf|archive-date=10 December 2021|url-status=live}}
⚫
* [[Grdelica train bombing]]
* {{Cite report|author=[[Amnesty International]]|year=2000|title=Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) /NATO: "Collateral damage" or unlawful killings? Violations of the Laws of War by NATO during Operation Allied Force|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur70/018/2000/en/}}
* {{Cite journal|first=William J.|last=Fenrick|year=2001|title=Targeting and Proportionality during the NATO Bombing Campaign against Yugoslavia|journal=European Journal of International Law|issue=3|volume=12|doi=10.1093/ejil/12.3.489|pages=489–502|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Sayapin|first=Sergey|year=2004|title=The varvarin case: Compensation impossible?|journal=Journal of Military Ethics|volume=3|issue=2|doi=10.1080/15027570410006147|pages=188–193}}
* {{Cite journal|first=Klaus Ferdinand|last=Gärditz|year=2014|title=Bridge of Varvarin|journal=The American Journal of International Law|volume=108|number=1|pages=86–93|doi=10.5305/amerjintelaw.108.1.0086|s2cid=146947308}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Mehring|first=Sigrid|year=2015|title=The Judgment of the German Bundesverfassungsgericht concerning Reparations for the Victims of the Varvarin Bombing|journal=International Criminal Law Review|volume=15|issue=1|pages=191–201|doi=10.1163/15718123-01501005}}
{{refend}}


[[Category:1999 in Serbia]]
[[Category:1999 in Serbia]]
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[[Category:NATO airstrikes]]
[[Category:NATO airstrikes]]
[[Category:Incidents involving NATO]]
[[Category:Incidents involving NATO]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by warfare]]
[[Category:1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:1999 in Germany]]
[[Category:Germany–Serbia relations]]

Latest revision as of 22:46, 3 June 2024

Varvarin bridge bombing
Part of NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Bridge after reconstruction
Location
Varvarin

43°43′29″N 21°22′26″E / 43.7247°N 21.37402°E / 43.7247; 21.37402
TargetVarvarin bridge
Date30 May 1999 (1999-05-30)
Shortly after noon
Executed byNATO
Casualties
  • 10 killed
  • 17 severely injured[1]
Varvarin bridge bombing is located in Serbia
Varvarin bridge bombing

The Varvarin bridge bombing was an aerial bombing executed by NATO as part of the Operation Allied Force. Ten people were killed and 17 were severely injured, all of them civilians.

Events

[edit]

On 30 May 1999, as part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the NATO bombed a bridge crossing the Velika Morava river in Varvarin. It was Sunday and the streets were full of people going to the market or coming back from the Orthodox church service for the Holy Trinity that had just finished. Soon after noon, two low-flying NATO F-16 warplanes fired the first laser-guided bomb strike against the bridge, killing three people and severely injuring five more. A few minutes after the first strike, as people rushed to the bridge to help the injured, two more bombs were fired. In total, 10 civilians were killed and 17 were severely injured.[2][3][4]

The 10 fatal victims were Sanja Milenković (15), Milan Savić (28), Vojkan Stanković (30), Zoran Marinković (33), Stojan Ristić (52), Ratibor Simonović (24), Ružica Simonović (55), Milivoje Ćirić (66), Dragoslav Terzić (67) and Tola Apostolović (74).[5]

The pilots were American and the military purpose of the operation remains unclear.[1]

Reactions

[edit]
Commemoration of the victims of the bombing

NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea declared that the bridge was a military target. Locals said that the bridge was too narrow for tanks and it was attacked on a clear day instead of during the night, accusing NATO of deliberately killing civilians.[2] After this incident, NATO changed its rules of engagement.[6]

[edit]

In 2003, families of the victims sued the German government in Germany.[3] The claimants argued that Germany gave assistance to NATO air operations and claimed compensations. German courts dismissed the right of the families to seek compensations in Germany. First in the regional court of Bonn in 2003, then in the higher regional court of Cologne in 2005 and the Federal Court of Justice in 2006. The families filed a complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court in 2007 seeking to reverse previous court decisions. On 13 August 2013, Federal Constitutional Court dismissed the claims again, arguing that victims of military operations abroad did not have the right for individual compensations.[7][8][9]

Remembrance

[edit]

Every year on May 30, an official remembrance ceremony is held in Serbia.[10]

The "Sanja Milenković" Fund, established in memory of the youngest victim of the bombing, aimed to provide scholarships for talented students. The fund raised over 200,000 euros and awarded 44 scholarships, but it became inactive due to financial issues, including the bankruptcy of Beogradska Banka.[11]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Gärditz 2014, p. 87.
  2. ^ a b Marlowe, Lara (31 May 1999). "NATO bombers hit town 'full of people'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Serbian Families Sue Germans Over NATO Bombing". Deutsche Welle. 15 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  4. ^ Fisk, Robert (9 July 2018). "Nearly two decades on from Nato's deadly bombing of civilians at Varvarin in Serbia, the wait for justice continues". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020.
  5. ^ Milojković, M. (30 May 2019). "CRNI PIJAČNI DAN Hiljade ljudi izašlo je u centar Varvarina a onda su se usred bela dana SRUČILE NATO BOMBE". Blic (in Serbian (Latin script)). Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. ^ Fenrick 2001, p. 501.
  7. ^ Gärditz 2014, p. 86.
  8. ^ "Varvarin bridge case, Federal Constitutional Court, 13 August 2013". International Committee of the Red Cross.
  9. ^ Mehring 2015, p. 191.
  10. ^ "24th anniversary of NATO bombing of civilians on Varvarin Bridge". Ministry of Defense, Republic of Serbia. 30 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Borba za Fond "Sanje Milenković"". Radio Television of Serbia (in Serbian (Latin script)). 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024.

Bibliography

[edit]
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