02/14/96 

Key dates in Yugoslavia's war

• June 25, 1991: Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia. Two days later, Yugoslav army attacks Slovenia, withdraws after a 10-day war.
• July: Serb-Croat skirmishes escalate into war between Croats and rebel Serbs, backed by the Yugoslav army, in Croatia.
• Feb. 29, 1992: Bosnia-Herzegovina declares independence. Bosnian Serbs proclaim separate state. Fighting spreads.
• April: Serbs begin siege of Sarajevo.
• May 30: United Nations imposes sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro, the only republics remaining in Yugoslavia, for fomenting war in Bosnia, Croatia.
• Jan. 2, 1993: International mediators Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen unveil plan to divide Bosnia into 10 provinces, mostly along ethnic lines. The plan is accepted by Bosnian government but rejected by Bosnian Serbs.
• March: Bosnian Croats and Muslims begin fighting over the 30% of Bosnian not already in Serb hands.
• April-May: U.N. Security Council declares six "safe areas" for Bosnian Muslims: Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihac, Srebrenica, Zepa and Gorazde.
• July 30: Preliminary agreement reached in Geneva for creating three states in Bosnia for Muslims, Croats, Serbs. Talks collapse after Serbs violate cease-fire.
• Feb. 5, 1994: More than 60 people killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell slams into downtown marketplace in Sarajevo. Days later, NATO demands Bosnian Serbs withdraw heavy guns from around Sarajevo or face air strikes.
• Mar. 18: Bosnia's Muslim-led government and Bosnian Croats sign a U.S.-brokered accord ending their war.
• May 13: An international peace plan that envisions eventual partition of Bosnia is reached. The plan is accepted by Bosnia government in July but rejected by Bosnian Serbs in August.
• May 24-25, 1995: After Serbs ignore U.N. order to remove heavy weapons around Sarajevo, NATO attacks Serb ammunition depot. Serbs shell "safe areas," including Tuzla, where 71 people are killed.
• July 11: Serbs overrun Srebrenica "safe area".
• July 25: Serbs take Zepa "safe area". Thousands of civilians flee.
• Aug. 4: Croatia launches massive assault on rebel Serbs and retakes most of remaining Serb-held land in Croatia, sending up to 180,000 Serbs fleeing.
• Aug. 15: Washington begins intensive effort for a new peace plan.
• Aug. 30: NATO warplanes launch air campaign against Serbs.
• Sept. 8: Negotiators agree to divide Bosnia into Serb and Muslim-Croat entities within one state. Meanwhile, Bosnian government, Croats retake much of northern, western Bosnia from Serbs.
• Sept. 20: NATO halts airstrikes after Serbs withdraw heaviest weapons around Sarajevo.
• Oct. 11: Sixty-day cease-fire takes effect ahead of peace talks due to start in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 1.
• Nov. 1: U.S.-sponsored peace talks open in Dayton, Ohio, with the presidents of Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. Agreement is reached for the peaceful integration of remaining Serb-held land in Croatia and to strengthen the Muslim-Croat federation in Bosnia.
• Nov. 13: International tribunal indicts six Bosnian Croats for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Nov. 16: International tribunal indicts Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Gen. Ratko Mladic for a second time, this time charging them with genocide over alleged massacres at Srebrenica.
• Nov. 21: In Dayton, Ohio, Balkan leaders agree on a comprehensive settlement to the 43-month war in Bosnia.