The United States established diplomatic relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 following its independence from Yugoslavia. A period of conflict followed among Bosnia’s Muslims, Croats, and Serbs over control of the former Yugoslav Republic’s territory.

Providing humanitarian aid instead of confronting atrocities against civilians was the central focus of the international response to the conflict in Bosnia.

After being initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People’s Army, Sarajevo was besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 (1,425 days) during the Bosnian War.

An American soldier was killed today when he stepped on a land mine in the American-controlled sector of northern Bosnia. He was the first American serviceman to die in Bosnia since the NATO-led peacekeeping mission began in December.

The NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a series of actions undertaken by NATO whose stated aim was to establish long-term peace during and after the Bosnian War….NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The 22 Marines flew from Naples, Italy, to join NATO soldiers deployed across Bosnia in recent days _ advance teams charged with the daunting task of setting up headquarters and logistics for the 60,000-strong NATO troops that will enforce peace in former Yugoslavia.

The U.S. military had a small presence in the region even prior to the official deployment of ground forces to Bosnia in December 1995.

After nearly a decade, the United States is ending its peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the European Union will take over the role from NATO next month. Most of the 700 American troops serving with the NATO mission in Bosnia will be withdrawn.

About 700 U.S. troops are stationed in Kosovo. U.S. troops arrived in Kosovo in June 1999 after the separatist war ended and in the past two decades, together with other NATO member states, have maintained a fragile peace under control.

Guardsmen and women from 1-169th Aviation Regiment departed from Windsor Locks to the Balkans as part of NATO’s Kosovo Force mission. Their mission is to assist an international effort to maintain a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, according to Director of Public Affairs Capt. Dave Pytlik.

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo’s Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self sufficient. Nearly one million people had fled Kosovo as refugees by that time, and many did not permanently return.

The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started in February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. This precipitated a mass expulsion of Kosovar Albanians as the Yugoslav forces continued to fight during the aerial bombing of Yugoslavia (March–June 1999).

Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the north of Albania, north of the Shkumbin river, Kosovo, southern Serbia, and western parts of North Macedonia. In the Middle Ages, more Albanians in Kosovo were concentrated in the western parts of the region than in its eastern part.