The

cluster bomb A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...

ings of

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

were events that occurred on 7 and 12 May 1999 during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The first bombing was a significant event involving civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs during the NATO campaign in Yugoslavia.

The first bombing

On 7 May 1999, between the time of 11:30 and 11:40, fighter jets of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

dropped two containers of cluster bombs over Niš, directed at Niš Airport, located at the end of the city. The bombs impacted near the city center, which is at least 3km from the airport, their presumed target. The bombs were scattered from the two containers and were carried by the wind and then fell in three locations in the central part of the city: * The Pathology building next to the Medical Center of Niš in the south of the city, * Next to the building of "Banovina" including the main market, bus station next to the Niš Fortress and "12th February" Health Centre * Parking of "Niš Express" near the Nišava River. A report from Human Rights Watch recorded 14 civilians deaths as a result of the attack, with another 28 injured. '' Večernje novosti'' reported 16 civilian deaths. Civilian deaths were high as the attack occurred in the middle of the day when civilians were congregating in the streets and at the market where the death toll was greatest.

The second bombing

On 12 May 1999, the eastern part of the city was bombed with cluster bombs, resulting in 11 civilian injuries. Many of the injuries were amputations. This part of the city, Duvanište, is more than 7 km from the airport. The last victim of that bombing was killed in the year 2000, when an unexploded bomb detonated.

Aftermath

After the incident the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

stopped using cluster bombs in the campaign, but other NATO members continued to use them. According to a report issued by Amnesty International, NATO gave no reason as to why cluster munitions were deployed on targets so close to a civilian population. In their opinion, NATO violated Article 51(4) and (5) of

Protocol I Protocol I (sometimes referred to as Additional Protocol I or AP 1) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of ''international conflicts'', extending to "armed conflicts in which peoples are ...

. In 2009 hundreds of unexploded cluster munitions could still be found in the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n countryside, despite efforts by the Serbian government to clear all sites of such munitions.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nis Cluster bombing of Nis Mass murder in 1999 Aerial operations and battles of the Kosovo War Marketplace attacks Cluster bomb attacks Military operations involving the Netherlands NATO airstrikes Civilian casualties in the Kosovo War 1999 in Serbia Incidents involving NATO May 1999 events in Europe Dutch war crimes