The Varvarin bridge bombing was an aerial bombing executed by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

as part of the

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

. Ten people were killed and 17 were severely injured, all of them civilians.

Events

On 30 May 1999, as part of the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, the

bombed a bridge crossing the

Velika Morava The Great Morava ( sr, Велика Морава, Velika Morava, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia. Etymology According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies ...

river in

Varvarin Varvarin ( sr-cyr, Варварин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of central Serbia. Population of the town is 2,133, and population of the municipality is 17,772. History The town is notable as the site of an 1810 b ...

. It was Sunday and the streets were full of people going to the market or coming back from the

Orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (di ...

service for the Holy Trinity that had just finished. Soon after noon, two low-flying

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 people were killed and 17 were severely injured. 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). The nationality of the pilots is unknown and the military purpose of the operation remains unclear.

Reactions

NATO spokesperson

Jamie Shea Jamie Patrick Shea (born 11 September 1953 in London) is a retired member of NATO. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium until his retirement in late September 2018. ...

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.

Legal actions

In 2003, families of the victims sued the German government in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 The Federal Court of Justice (german: Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction (''ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit'') in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situat ...

in 2006. The families filed a complaint to the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its in ...

in 2007 seeking to reverse previous court decisions. On 13 August 2013,

dismissed the claims again, arguing that victims of military operations abroad did not have the right for individual compensations.

References

* {{coord missing, Serbia 1999 in Serbia May 1999 events in Europe Aerial operations and battles of the Kosovo War Civilian casualties in the Kosovo War NATO airstrikes Incidents involving NATO United States war crimes