Grdelica train bombing
Encyclopedia
The Grdelica train bombing occurred on 12 April 1999 (it was the second day of Serbian Orthodox Easter holidays that year), when two missiles fired by NATO aircraft hit a passenger train
while it was passing across a railway bridge over the Južna Morava
river at Grdelica
gorge, some 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) south of Belgrade
in Serbia
. As a result, 14 civilians including children and a pregnant woman were killed and another 16 passengers wounded.
The bombing occurred during Operation Allied Force
, a NATO operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) aimed at forcing the FRY government to remove its security forces from the disputed Serbian province of Kosovo
. The campaign had begun by attacking mainly military targets, but by mid-April the emphasis had changed to strategic and economic targets such as transport links, particularly major bridges. Yet many civilian casualties were reported in the solely residential areas far beyond such targets, as well as in destroyed media homes, public transportation vehicles, hotels and clerical offices.
missile precision-guided munition
released by a NATO F-15E Strike Eagle
struck the centre of the bridge at the exact moment that the No. 393 passenger train, en route from Belgrade to Ristovac, was crossing the bridge. The missile struck the train, causing major damage, but did not destroy the bridge.
According to General Wesley Clark
, who was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at the time, the train had been traveling too fast and the bomb was too close to the target for it to divert in time. The first missile had been fired from a significant distance from the target, and the pilot was allegedly not able to recognize the train visually. Realizing that the train had been hit but believing that he could still complete the mission by striking the end of the bridge where the train had already passed, the pilot then made another pass and fired a second missile. This one too hit the train. Clark described the second hit as an "uncanny accident" in which the train had continued moving into the target area, obscured by dust and smoke from the first strike, stating that the pilot allegedly had had less than one second to react. A gun camera video was released by NATO to support its version of the events.
released an editorial that accused NATO of performing the attack with the aim of "inflicting suffering on and destroying the Serbian people". In a press conference the day after the attack, General Clark stated that "it was an unfortunate incident which he, and the crew, and all of us very much regret" and "it is one of those regrettable things that happen in a campaign like this and we are all very sorry for it, but we are doing the absolute best we can do to avoid collateral damage
." The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, John Hamre
, told the United States Congress
a few months later that "We never wanted to destroy that train or kill its occupants. We did want to destroy the bridge and we regret this accident."
The German Frankfurter Rundschau
prompted a further controversy during January 2000, when it reported that the NATO video had been shown at three times its real speed, giving a misleading impression of the train's speed. The Pentagon and NATO stated that the error had been the result of the video being speeded up for battle damage assessment purposes, but not being slowed again for the press conference. Later investigation by Frankfurter Rundschau asserted that the video was sped up 4.7 times.
argued that the attack should have been stopped when the train had been struck, and that the second bombing had violated the principle of proportionality
. In a post-war report, Amnesty stated that the incident
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) established a committee during May 1999 to determine whether offences against international law
had been committed during the NATO campaign. In its final report to the tribunal's Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte
, the committee took the view that the attack had been proportionate:
The committee was divided over the question of whether the aircrew had behaved recklessly. It recommended nonetheless "that the attack on the train at Grdelica Gorge should not be investigated by the [Prosecutor]." A.P.V. Rogers comments that the committee "must have considered the first missile strike to be a legitimate action against a military objective, the inference being that any civilian casualties of that strike were not disproportionate, and that the firing of the second missile was an error of judgment in the heat of the moment."
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
while it was passing across a railway bridge over the Južna Morava
Južna Morava
South Morava or in the past Bulgarian Morava is a river in the Republic of Macedonia and Serbia which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava...
river at Grdelica
Grdelica
Grdelica may refer to:* Grdelica , a town in Serbia* Grdelica , a village in Serbia...
gorge, some 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) south of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. As a result, 14 civilians including children and a pregnant woman were killed and another 16 passengers wounded.
The bombing occurred during Operation Allied Force
Operation Allied Force
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, a NATO operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) aimed at forcing the FRY government to remove its security forces from the disputed Serbian province of Kosovo
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1990-1999)
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija comprises the territory of Kosovo within the Republic of Serbia. From April 1992, Serbia itself formed an integral part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
. The campaign had begun by attacking mainly military targets, but by mid-April the emphasis had changed to strategic and economic targets such as transport links, particularly major bridges. Yet many civilian casualties were reported in the solely residential areas far beyond such targets, as well as in destroyed media homes, public transportation vehicles, hotels and clerical offices.
Events
The bombing occurred at about 11.40 hours local time. An AGM-130AGM-130
The AGM-130 is a missile developed by the United States of America.-Overview:The AGM-130 is a powered air-to-surface missile designed for strikes at long range against various targets...
missile precision-guided munition
Precision-guided munition
A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....
released by a NATO F-15E Strike Eagle
F-15E Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force F-15E Strike...
struck the centre of the bridge at the exact moment that the No. 393 passenger train, en route from Belgrade to Ristovac, was crossing the bridge. The missile struck the train, causing major damage, but did not destroy the bridge.
According to General Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
, who was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at the time, the train had been traveling too fast and the bomb was too close to the target for it to divert in time. The first missile had been fired from a significant distance from the target, and the pilot was allegedly not able to recognize the train visually. Realizing that the train had been hit but believing that he could still complete the mission by striking the end of the bridge where the train had already passed, the pilot then made another pass and fired a second missile. This one too hit the train. Clark described the second hit as an "uncanny accident" in which the train had continued moving into the target area, obscured by dust and smoke from the first strike, stating that the pilot allegedly had had less than one second to react. A gun camera video was released by NATO to support its version of the events.
Controversy
The incident caused an immediate controversy in Serbia and abroad. The Yugoslav state news agency TanjugTanjug
Tanjug was founded on November 5, 1943. It is now a Serbian news agency based in Belgrade....
released an editorial that accused NATO of performing the attack with the aim of "inflicting suffering on and destroying the Serbian people". In a press conference the day after the attack, General Clark stated that "it was an unfortunate incident which he, and the crew, and all of us very much regret" and "it is one of those regrettable things that happen in a campaign like this and we are all very sorry for it, but we are doing the absolute best we can do to avoid collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
." The U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, John Hamre
John Hamre
John J. Hamre is a specialist in international studies, a former Washington bureaucrat and the current president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a position he has held with that think tank since April 2000.-Education:Hamre is the son of Melvin Sanders and Ruth Lucile...
, told the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
a few months later that "We never wanted to destroy that train or kill its occupants. We did want to destroy the bridge and we regret this accident."
The German Frankfurter Rundschau
Frankfurter Rundschau
The Frankfurter Rundschau is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition as well as an e-paper...
prompted a further controversy during January 2000, when it reported that the NATO video had been shown at three times its real speed, giving a misleading impression of the train's speed. The Pentagon and NATO stated that the error had been the result of the video being speeded up for battle damage assessment purposes, but not being slowed again for the press conference. Later investigation by Frankfurter Rundschau asserted that the video was sped up 4.7 times.
Legal issues
The Yugoslav government and some Western groups characterised the attack as a "crime". Other human rights organisations criticised the way that the attack had been continued after the train had been struck by the first strike. Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
argued that the attack should have been stopped when the train had been struck, and that the second bombing had violated the principle of proportionality
Proportionality (law)
Proportionality is a principle in law which covers two distinct concepts. Within municipal law it is used to convey the idea that the punishment of an offender should fit the crime...
. In a post-war report, Amnesty stated that the incident
- "appears to have violated Article 57 of Protocol IProtocol IProtocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern...
which requires an attack to 'be cancelled or suspended if it becomes clear that the objective is a not a military one ... or that the attack may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life... which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.' "
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) established a committee during May 1999 to determine whether offences against international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
had been committed during the NATO campaign. In its final report to the tribunal's Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte
Carla Del Ponte
Carla Del Ponte is a former Chief Prosecutor of two United Nations international criminal law tribunals. A former Swiss attorney general, she was appointed prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in August...
, the committee took the view that the attack had been proportionate:
- "It is the opinion of the committee that the bridge was a legitimate military objective. The passenger train was not deliberately targeted. The person controlling the bombs, pilot or WSOWeapon systems officerA Weapon Systems Officer is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the fighter in the United States Navy. A Weapon Systems Officer ("WSO", pronounced "wizzo") is an air Flight Officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of the...
, targeted the bridge and, over a very short period of time, failed to recognize the arrival of the train while the first bomb was in flight. The train was on the bridge when the bridge was targeted a second time and the bridge length has been estimated at 50 meters ... It is the opinion of the committee that the information in relation to the attack with the first bomb does not provide a sufficient basis to initiate an investigation."
The committee was divided over the question of whether the aircrew had behaved recklessly. It recommended nonetheless "that the attack on the train at Grdelica Gorge should not be investigated by the [Prosecutor]." A.P.V. Rogers comments that the committee "must have considered the first missile strike to be a legitimate action against a military objective, the inference being that any civilian casualties of that strike were not disproportionate, and that the firing of the second missile was an error of judgment in the heat of the moment."