| NATO bombing of Novi Sad | |
| Partof: | the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia |
| Location: | Novi Sad, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| Date: | 24 March – 9 June 1999 |
| Coordinates: | 45.2542°N 19.8425°W |
| Target: | Novi Sad |
| Type: | Aerial bombing |
| Fatalities: | ~2 |
| Injuries: | ~17 |
| Perps: | NATO |
During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, aerial bombings were carried out against the second largest Yugoslav city of Novi Sad. According to NATO press releases, the bombing targeted oil refineries, roads, bridges, and telecommunications relay stations, facilities which had military uses. The bombing of the city caused great damage to local civilians, including severe pollution and widespread ecological damage as well as lasting consequences for the well-being of the population.
The bombing caused civilian deaths and injuries. Those who were not directly physically harmed suffer from consequences for their physical health caused by ecological damage as well as consequences for psychological health caused by almost three months of trauma and fear. Due to the NATO attacks, many in Novi Sad were left unemployed.
Notably, NATO were accused of failing to give "effective advance warning" of attacks which may affect civilians, as required by Protocol I.[1] One such attack where NATO was accused of this was the bombing of the Ministry of Education in Novi Sad, premises which administered social welfare programmes.[2]
The NATO bombing left Novi Sad without any of its three Danube bridges, communications, water, and electricity, which severely impaired the day to day living of the residents of the city. Water services were restored only after two years, partially due to funding from Britain, one of the countries which bombed targets in the city in 1999.[3] All three bridges have been rebuilt as of 2018 with the completion of Žeželj Bridge.
The bombing of Novi Sad had implications for the environment. A United Nations study (the BTF ‘Industrial Sites’ and ‘Danube’ missions) found that there were serious environmental issues, "requiring immediate action", some of which resulted from the bombing.[4] The bombing of Novi Sad's refinery caused fires which burned 50,000 tons of crude oil, sending toxins and carcinogens into the air and contaminating groundwater. The BTF study was complicated by the heavy pollution that existed before the bombing, with the group noting that "the enforced shutdown of the refinery may even have led to local improvements in the aquatic environment, due to a possible reduction in chronic pollution".
Once all the samples for Novi Sad (Danube Mission) were collated, "based on field observation and results from sample analysis, the BTF concluded that there was no evidence of significant adverse impacts on the Danube aquatic environment as a result of air strikes on Novi Sad refinery. It is thought that most of the oils and oil products released were burned and that no significant volume entered the river".
The BTF study also found that prior to the air strikes, local technicians helped minimise the potential harmful effects of air strikes by "removing oil products that could be harmful to human health if spilt or burnt, such as transformer oil containing PCBs. Production was also accelerated to use up as much as possible of the crude oil, intermediate products and additives, and the final products were shipped to other locations. The remaining oil was mixed with gasoline, so that the tanks would ignite if hit, rather than leak into the soil and groundwater".
By 2003, the Danube Commission had removed all of the debris of bombed bridges and ordnance from the river.[5] The clearing of the debris was not only important for Novi Sad, but for European states (such as Hungary and Romania) who were economically impacted by the blockade of river traffic to the Black Sea caused by the bombing.
See also: Legitimacy of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. NATO was accused of committing war crimes due to the nature of some of the bombing raids. Some Novi Sad residents found it ironic that Novi Sad was so heavily targeted by NATO due to the fact that during the time of the bombing, the city was ruled by the local democratic opposition, which was against the regime in Belgrade. Therefore, some citizens of Novi Sad did not understand why the city was targeted for the events in Kosovo.
At a press release one year on from the bombing, then-NATO Secretary General George Robertson claimed that NATO encountered complications due to the Yugoslav military using civilian buildings, and the civilians within as human shields. NATO officials "expressed deep regret at any civilian casualties it caused".[6]
NATO claimed that the bombing of targets such as bridges was aimed at impairing the Yugoslav Army's command and control structure. However, the efficacy of the campaign and choice of targets was brought into question by human rights groups, after bridges of no conceivable strategic relevance to the military situation in Kosovo were bombed, including a bridge which led to Hungary, a NATO country. In response to NATO's justification of actions, the Movement for the Advancement of International Criminal Law (MAICL) argued that the civilian deaths caused were clearly disproportionate to the military benefits.