15yo NATO bombings of Yugoslavia in 15 dramatic photos
![15yo NATO bombings of Yugoslavia in 15 dramatic photos](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/nato-serbia.si.jpg)
2,000 civilians died during 78 days of devastating NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia in 1999, when citizens of a European country became accustomed to war-heads flying over their heads, hiding in bomb shelters and praying for their loved ones to stay alive.
WATCH: ЗАШТО? WHY? Stories of the bombed Yugoslavia
US President Bill Clinton calls the bombing “humanitarian intervention” adding “It is also important to America's national interest”.
![Clinton announced the bombing of Serbia. Thousands died. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-1.jpg)
NATO aircraft take off from bases in Italy and Germany, the first of 1,000 sorties under operation ‘Noble Anvil’ (seriously).
![A US F-15C takes off from Cervia air base on a NATO mission over Yugoslavia 24 March, 1999. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/01.jpg)
NATO launch Tomahawk missiles with 1,000-pound warheads from ships in the Mediterranean and Adriatic at military facilities in Pristina, Podgorica, Batajnica and an air base near Belgrade.
![A Tomahawk cruise missile is launched from the US Navy cruiser USS Philippine Sea 25 March 1999. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/02.jpg)
For the first time Serbian night skies are lit by fire from a NATO explosion.
![A police training center in Novi Sad burns 25 March 1999, Tanjug. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/04.jpg)
At an emergency UNSC meeting only Russia, China and Namibia support a resolution condemning NATO’s aggression.
![Sergey Lavrov, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, at UNSC emergency meeting 26 March, 1999 (AFP Photo/Stan Honda)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-2.jpg)
NATO insists it will only bomb military targets in Yugoslavia, regularly issuing photos to support the claim.
![A NATO photo published 28th March 1999 of Podgorica air base after NATO bombed it. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/03.jpg)
However, the so-called “humanitarian intervention” killed 2,000 civilians.
![Relatives and friends mourn six Serbian TV workers killed by NATO April 26. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-3.jpg)
NATO destroyed homes and schools, libraries and hospitals, dismissing it as ‘collateral damage’.
![Vehicles burn outside a hospital in Belgrade after NATO air strikes May 20. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-4.jpg)
A target became protest symbol. Anti-NATO demonstrators would use them in Belgrade and around the world.
![Serbs give an Orthodox âsaluteâ during a central Belgrade protest against NATO airstrikes March 29. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-5.jpg)
In April, Belgrade announced a unilateral ceasefire to mark the Orthodox Easter and made an offer to allow refugees to return to Kosovo. The West replied with another night of bombing.
![Pristina residents search through the rubble after a NATO missile hits the centre of Kosovo's capital early April 7. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-6.jpg)
Thousands of people spent nights in bomb shelters.
![A woman feeds her baby in a Belgrade bomb shelter after air raid sirens went of May 8. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-7.jpg)
In late May NATO plunged Belgrade into darkness, destroying a power plant that supplied much of Serbia.
![A boy watches his mother prepare food in Belgrade May 23. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-8.jpg)
NATO either completely destroyed or damaged 40,000 homes.
![A man in front of his house after a daylight May 7 NATO raid over Nis. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-9.jpg)
Refineries and chemical plants all over Serbia were destroyed, polluting the region’s ecology and damaging public health.
![Smoke looms over Belgrade from the Pancevo chemical plant after NATO air strike April 18. (Reuters)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-10.jpg)
15 years after the NATO bombings, Serbia is still haunted by the memories of the aggression which cost it hundreds of lives.
![A woman walks in front of the former federal Interior Ministry in Belgrade, destroyed by NATO March 22, 2014. (AFP Photo)](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/news/24/11/90/00/cl-12.jpg)
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