Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Thick smoke billowed from the bullet holes, and the crew climbed out of the hatch and jumped off the vehicle.

"Crack!" A Molotov cocktail was thrown onto the tank, and a fire broke out.

"Screech—Boom!"

The Leopard 1's turret detonated, and the vehicle was overturned by the shockwave. The turret wreckage, now reduced to scrap metal, spun and landed on the ruins.

Its twisted cannon barrel still pointed in the direction of the rioters, the UN flag and white paint on the side of the turret were blackened by the gunfire, and molten iron flowed down like a tear of resentment.

Weapons born for war ultimately choose to die for peace.

Fifteen minutes later, the Dutch peacekeeping force's position fell.

Of the 326 Dutch peacekeepers, 47 were killed in the fighting, and most of the rest were captured. A few escaped in the chaos and fled into the surrounding mountains and forests.

The Srebrenica security zone fell into the hands of the Serb army.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Serb militias who entered the city began a massacre.

They pulled the men and boys out of the crowds, out of the women and the elderly, out of the basements where they were hiding, and out of the tents in the UN security zone.

They were pulled out of the city and lined up in rows.

"Bang!" "Rat-a-tat-tat—"

As gunfire erupted, civilians fell in rows. Then, T-54 tanks equipped with buckets arrived and shoveled dirt over them to cover the fallen bodies.

In a single day, tens of thousands of Muslim and Albanian citizens were murdered.

The exact number of casualties was repeatedly counted, revised, and debated in the years that followed. After the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina sent people to dig up these mass graves and count the number of people killed. At least 8400 people died.

The captured Dutch soldiers were forced to witness it all. They were locked in a building where they could see what was happening outside through the windows.

Some soldiers gripped the railings and roared, some angrily hurled insults at the bandits, and many could not bear to see the massacre taking place. They could only hide in the corners and cover their ears, hoping not to hear the bullets piercing flesh and the creaking of treads crushing bones.

There's nothing they can do.

After the war, most of the surviving Dutch peacekeepers had to undergo psychological treatment for more than six months, and many suffered from PTSD for the rest of their lives. Later, some retired Dutch soldiers were unable to escape the nightmare of this scene in their minds and chose to commit suicide due to mental stress and depression.

Their souls died long ago in Srebrenica on March 8, 1992.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On March 9, the Dutch peacekeepers who had managed to escape finally reached the nearest friendly outpost. They emerged from the forest, ragged and disoriented, bringing news from Srebrenica.

The news spread throughout the United Nations and soon reached the entire world.

"Tens of thousands of people were killed! Inside the UN security zone, right under the noses of peacekeeping forces!"

The Dutch government issued a statement with a level of strength rarely seen in the diplomatic history of the Netherlands, a country known for its moderate stance.

"All perpetrators of the Srebrenica massacre must be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity!"

In The Hague, Dutch citizens spontaneously gathered in front of the Peace Palace. Some held up photos of the victims, while many more demanded that the United Nations severely punish the Serbian militants.

On March 10, the Serb army withdrew from Srebrenica, and the peacekeeping troops and journalists who arrived entered the deserted city.

It was a ghost town. The streets were littered with shell casings and bloodstains, along with discarded shoes and clothing. There were bullet holes in the walls of the buildings, and numerous drag marks on the ground—a dark red trail running from one of the doors down into the street.

The reporters finally found those places outside the city.

Under the engineers' machinery, people reopened those raised mounds of earth.

Their photos and videos spread all over the world. This time, no one asked, "Is the United Nations even useful?"

People are asking, "How much longer will the United Nations tolerate this?"

On March 11, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was completely different from the previous times. This time there was no debate; no one was in the mood for debate in front of Srebrenica's photographs.

The Soviet representative put forward a new resolution: the Security Council authorized UN member states to launch a large-scale military strike against Serb armed groups still in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina who refused to lay down their arms.

The US representative voted in favor, as did the UK and France, while China abstained.

This time, it's not a peacekeeping force that's coming!

The UN Security Council has authorized member states to “take all necessary measures” to end attacks by Serb militants in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

The war has begun.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

For the first time, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, two opposing camps during the Cold War, took action against the same enemy under the same mandate.

On March 16, the Soviet Union mobilized Army Group South, located in Hungary, with more than 30,000 Soviet troops and tens of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops crossing the Croatian border.

The Warsaw Pact assembled over two hundred aircraft, including Su-24 frontline bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, and MiG-29 fighters, along with several squadrons from Poland and East Germany, and the Soviet Union began a large-scale air campaign against Serb armed groups in Croatia.

On the same day, NATO assembled more than 250 aircraft, including US Air Force F-15E and F-16, French Mirage 2000 and Jaguar, and British Tornado GR1... NATO began airstrikes against the Republika Srpska forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The air strike pattern was exactly the same as in the Gulf War: first, attack radar and air defense to tear open the sky; then, attack command centers and communication nodes to paralyze their nerves; and finally, attack ammunition depots and assembly points to destroy combat power.

The Serb militia's air defense capabilities were far inferior to Iraq's; they possessed portable anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft guns, but lacked a comprehensive air defense network. The airstrikes destroyed most of their air defense positions within the first few hours.

Faced with the joint attack from NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the Serb militants tied a large number of hostages to bunkers to prevent coalition airstrikes. But this time, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were serious. Warsaw Pact ground troops and armed helicopters came and surrounded the militants, forcing them to surrender.

Within a week, the Warsaw Pact and NATO launched nearly 4,500 sorties. The Serbian forces' command and communication systems were completely paralyzed, their ammunition depots and assembly points were destroyed, and all supply lines from Serbia were cut off by airstrikes!

With Warsaw Pact air support, the New People's Army launched a ground offensive against Serb forces in eastern Croatia and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, recapturing large swathes of lost territory. Towns that had been captured by Serbs over the past few months were being recaptured one by one.

On March 28, after losing their military advantage, the Serb forces sent a signal to the United Nations through intermediaries: they hoped to hold peace talks.

Peace talks began on April 2.

Each person seated at the peace table had a glass of water in front of them. Next to each glass was a photograph of Srebrenica.

Those photos were uploaded by the Dutch representative.

The Dutch representative said, "Before we begin discussing the peace terms, I would like to ask everyone here to look at these photographs. These are the origins of the issues your peace negotiations aim to resolve, and also what will happen again if the negotiations fail."

Peace talks have begun.

First, there was the trial of war criminals. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia demanded the trial of all Serb soldiers who had participated in the genocide, but representatives of Republika Srpska also presented evidence that Bosniaks and Croats were involved.

This civil war was a war of mutual vendettas among multiple factions, but the Serbs were the ones put on trial as the ringleaders. If there is to be a trial, then the perpetrators of the massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia should also be brought to trial!

On May 4, the peace talks finally came to an end.

Republika Srpska in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina declared itself an autonomous province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Republika Srpska in eastern Croatia declared its integration into Croatia, retaining some militia and police forces. Regarding war crimes trials, over 200 Republika armed commanders, including Ratko Mladic, who participated in the genocide, will be sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Croatian National Crime Agency in The Hague for trial. War criminals from other ethnic groups in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina who participated in the massacres at the start of the civil war will also be sent to The Hague.

On May 7, the warring parties in the Yugoslav civil war signed the "Framework Agreement for Peace between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia" in Geneva.

The main contents of the agreement are as follows:

Bosnia and Herzegovina maintains a unified sovereign state, but is internally composed of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (which controls 51% of the territory) and the Autonomous Province of Republika Srpska (which controls 49% of the territory).

Bosnia and Herzegovina will establish a unified central agency to be responsible for foreign affairs, foreign trade, currency and other matters.

The Republika Srpska province may retain its armed forces; Sarajevo will remain unified and governed by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

War criminals charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former U.S. Court in The Hague are barred from participating in political life.

Croatia remains a unified sovereign state, with Republika Srpska in the east also incorporated into the state as an autonomous province, establishing a unified central government. Similarly, the autonomous province can retain police and militia forces.

The new Yugoslav People's Army will become the defense forces of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On May 12, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia announced to the international community that they would form the Yugoslav People's Federation, and the new People's Army would exist as the Yugoslav People's Federation Defense Forces.

On May 24, Serbia announced the formation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with Montenegro.

In October, armed conflict broke out in Kosovo as Albanian armed groups sought independence.

I feel terrible... I need to call a doctor...

As the title says, I've been vomiting and having diarrhea since noon, the diarrhea just won't stop, so I went to the hospital for an IV drip... I'll start writing again tomorrow morning once I've recovered.

Chapter 124 Milosevic: Hmm, can we reconcile?

The name Kosovo carries roughly the same weight in the hearts of Serbs as Jerusalem carries in the hearts of Jews.

It is the religious center of Serbia. The Patriarchate of Peč and the monastery complex of Gračanič are the birthplace and spiritual center of the Serbian Orthodox Church, equivalent to the birthplace of the Church.

It is the origin of Serbian national mythology. In 1389, the Ottoman Empire defeated the Kingdom of Serbia on the Kosovo plain. Although this battle was a tactical defeat, it was constructed into the foundational narrative of Serbian national sacrifice and honor.

It was the core territory of the medieval kingdom, and during the Nemanja dynasty, Kosovo was the political heart of the Serbian state.

But now, in Kosovo, Albanians make up the vast majority, about 90%, while Serbs have become a minority.

One reason was that after 1389, the Ottoman Empire gradually annexed the Balkans. Serbian Orthodox Christians under Ottoman rule bore a heavier burden of taxes and social pressure, while a significant portion of Albanians were Muslims and received better treatment within the Ottoman system. This difference in practical benefits stemming from religious identity led to a continuous increase in the Albanian population, while Serbs continued to migrate out of the country.

The Serbs had tried to reclaim the Holy Land on several occasions. After Serbia's defeat in 1690 in a war against the Ottomans in cooperation with the Habsburg dynasty, in order to avoid retaliation, Serbian Patriarch Arseniye III led tens of thousands of Serbs northward. Such large-scale northward migrations occurred many times.

Meanwhile, Albanian mountain people filled the space left by the Serbs, migrating in large numbers to settle in Kosovo.

When World War II ended and Yugoslavia was established, Kosovo under Tito's rule was predominantly Albanian, so it was granted autonomous province status, and Albanian language education and cultural institutions received support.

A portion of the Albanian population migrated from Albania and Macedonia, further consolidating the Albanian majority and foreshadowing the rise of Serbs in the 80s, who increasingly viewed themselves as a "minority group in their homeland" and experienced a surge in nationalism.

The 1981 Kosovo Albanian riots and Milosevic's speech at the 600th anniversary of the Kosovo War in 1989 both drew on Serbian national sentiment.

Although their ancestral homeland is no longer the settlement of their own people, the Serbian people would never accept the reality of their holy land being independent under the control of a foreign power!

In 1989, Milosevic amended the Serbian constitution, abolishing Kosovo's de facto autonomy. Everything that the 1974 Tito constitution had granted Kosovo—its own parliament, its own police force, its own courts, its own education system, and a vote in the Federal Presidium—was taken away with a single constitutional amendment.

Kosovo has transformed from an autonomous province with near-republican status into a regular administrative region directly governed by Belgrade.

The Albanians' reaction was similar to that of the Indians—a nonviolent non-cooperation movement.

They created a parallel society: since Serbia won't let me participate in your system, then I won't participate, I'll create my own!

In a region where Albanians make up more than 90% of the population, Serbian administrative bodies are the minority.

They established underground schools. The Albanians ran the schools in their own private homes, the teachers were Albanian teachers who had been dismissed by the Serbian authorities, the textbooks were self-compiled, and the teaching was in Albanian.

They established underground hospitals. After Albanian doctors were driven out of public hospitals, they began treating Albanian patients in their own living rooms and garages.

They even set up an underground government! In 1991, the Albanians held a referendum that was not recognized by Serbia, declaring Kosovo a republic and electing their own president—Ibrahim Rugova, who believed in Gandhi-style nonviolent resistance.

The entire Albanian society in Kosovo thus operated as a self-sufficient system right under the noses of the Serbian authorities.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

From 1991 to 1992, Yugoslavia underwent dramatic changes. Serbia fought a war in Croatia and lost; peacekeeping forces intervened, the Serb armed groups were suppressed, and Croatia preserved its territorial integrity. Serbia fought a war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and lost again; after the Srebrenica massacre, joint NATO and Warsaw Pact airstrikes shattered the Serb armed groups' military advantage.

Serbia's two failed foreign wars gave the Albanians in Kosovo something—confidence.

It turns out Serbia is not invincible! It turns out Milosevic's army can lose! It turns out the international community will intervene! It turns out there are people willing to help those oppressed by Serbia!

Faith is a dangerous thing. To the oppressors, the faith of the oppressed is more terrifying than their weapons.

In May 1992, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia announced to the international community that the three republics would form the People's Federation of Yugoslavia. The New People's Army would exist as the federal defense forces, and its leader, Kadijevich, would serve as the federal president.

At the same time, Serbia announced the formation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with Montenegro, a smaller version of "Yugoslavia" centered on Belgrade.

The Balkans changed shape several times in just one year. Macedonia's successful independence and accession to the federation gave the Albanians in Kosovo a new option for struggle: independence and nation-building.

If Macedonia, a small republic with a population of two million, could successfully gain independence from Serbia, why can't Kosovo do the same?

Why can't Kosovo declare independence and join the Yugoslav People's Federation? If Macedonia could do it, why can't Kosovo?

Once this issue is raised, it can never be suppressed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, in southern Kosovo, Albania is facing difficulties.

In 1992, Albania was the poorest country in all of Europe. The Enver Hoxha communist regime left behind ruins after its collapse in 1991—economic collapse, crumbling infrastructure, bunkers scattered throughout the country like scars embedded in the land, and military equipment that remained at the level it was before its falling out with China in the 1960s.

The current Albanian government is so weak that it can't even control its own borders.

But there's one thing Albania can't control—national sentiment.

Kosovo is inhabited by Albanians, and so is Albania. They share the same blood, language, and culture, yet this same ethnic group is separated by an artificially drawn border. When Kosovo's Albanians are oppressed by Serbia, Albania naturally calls for support for its compatriots!

Unlike the traditional approach of the old Zhong, modern Europe tends to establish nation-states, where each nation should have a common country, such as Poland, Germany, Hungary, and France. Even if some ethnic groups live together, the location of the border can generally be determined by the distribution of ethnic groups.

Therefore, in the Balkans, a region inhabited by various ethnic groups, conflicts are naturally inevitable.

When the economy is booming, big problems become small problems; when the economy is in decline, small problems become big problems. Albania's current economic situation is the worst; it is on the verge of economic collapse and has nothing left but guns and ammunition. Therefore, in order to divert domestic tensions, the Albanian government has chosen to support Kosovo.

Since May 1992, the Kosovo Liberation Army has received substantial weapons support from Albania.

It started as a few underground groups, a few young men who had survived a manhunt by Serbian police, who used rifles smuggled from Albania to launch sporadic attacks on Serbian police stations and patrols in the mountains of western Kosovo.

Serbia's defeats in the two wars made Milosevic highly vigilant, believing that the whole world was trying to contain the great Serbia and persecute the Serbian nation! In order to prevent the forced secession of Kosovo, Milosevic greatly intensified the repression of the region.