Date 7 May 1999 Attack type Aerial bombing Non-fatal injuries 28 | Target Niš Airport Deaths 15 | |
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Location Niš, Serbia, Yugoslavia | ||
The Cluster bombing of Niš was an event that occurred on 7 May 1999 during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. It was the most serious war crime involving civilian deaths and the use of cluster bombs. The cluster bombs had been dropped by Dutch F-16s.
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The Incident
On 7 May 1999, between the time of 11:30 and 11:40, Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 fighter jets dropped two containers of cluster bombs over Niš, directed at Niš Airport, located at the end of the city. The bombs missed their target and fell near the city center. 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:
A report from Human Rights Watch stated that 15 civilians were killed, with another 28 injured.
Aftermath
After the incident the Royal Netherlands Air Force stopped using cluster bombs in the campaign, but other NATO members continued to use them.
Today, hundreds of unexploded cluster munitions can still be found in the Serbian countryside, despite efforts by the Serbian government to clear all sites of such munitions.