On this day 2 January Europe

Drone_pilot

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1993: Peace Plan for Bosnia

Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia are meeting to discuss a peace plan aimed at ending nine months of fighting in the country.
It is the first time the heads of the Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats have met face-to-face since civil war broke out last April. The meeting, in Geneva, was called by the United Nation's special envoys, Cyrus Vance and Lord Owen.

They have proposed splitting Bosnia into 10 autonomous provinces, with a de-centralised government run by the three main factions. Sarajevo would become an open city with Muslims, Serbs and Croats, each having a say in how it is run.

Mr Vance said the leaders had to choose between peace and war, between life and death for thousands of people.

Optimum time for peace

Since the fighting began last April, the Serbs, under the leadership of Radovan Karadzic, have seized control of most of the country. They have been pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing, forcing non-Serbs out of areas they consider are rightfully theirs.

Getting all three leaders together under one roof is considered a major achievement. The Muslim leader, President Alija Izetbegovic, said only a few months ago the idea of him sitting down with the Bosnian Serb leader was as unlikely as Churchill negotiating with Hitler in 1940.

Lord Owen said now would be the optimum time for reaching a settlement. He continued: "We would not hesitate to fix the blame on any parties that block progress here."

The talks are due to adjourn on Tuesday. If there is no agreement by then, the fighting is likely to intensify.


1996: US peacekeepers pour into Bosnia

The first convoy of American combat troops has entered Northern Bosnia to try to keep the peace between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims, following the signing of the Dayton peace plan last month.
Commander of NATO armed forces in Bosnia, Admiral Leighton Smith, appeared on Bosnian Serb TV to try to reassure Serbs the alliance would be even-handed in implementing the agreement.

American army units with high artillery have taken over a strategically important road that separates the two communities, but US soldiers will not be deployed in the most dangerous areas.

Americans in Bosnia now number 2000, representing the superpower's first military operation in Europe since the Second World War.

Lt Col Greg Stone, commander of the 1st Cavalry's 1st Squadron, said: "This is another step, another chapter in history".

Progress has been slowed by the bad weather, which has turned the US base into a muddy bog. The troops are said to be behind schedule.

The troops are headed to Tuzla air base, the main US base in Bosnia, where they will then be assigned to 16 bases, set up on both sides of the confrontation line.

The exact sites for some of the bases are still being worked on by military planners, officials said.

In Sarajevo the Joint Military Commission, bringing together peacekeepers and the warring parties, met to discuss the disbanding of civilian armed groups and the clearance of mines.
 

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