Balkans-16- The First Shots (Français)

Peace does not disappear in a single moment. It fades, until one day the silence is broken. June 1991. Yugoslavia. For months, political negotiations had failed. The republics could no longer agree on the country's future. Slovenia and Croatia wanted independence. Serbia insisted Yugoslavia should remain together. Neither side was prepared to give way. On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia formally declared independence from Yugoslavia. For many Slovenians and Croatians, it was a day of celebration. Crowds filled the streets waving new national flags, believing they were witnessing the birth of independent nations. But in Belgrade, the federal government regarded the declarations as illegal. The Yugoslav People's Army, known as the JNA, was ordered to restore federal control. Its first objective was Slovenia. Army units moved towards border crossings, airports, and key transport routes, expecting little resistance. Instead, they found ordinary Slovenians ready to defend their newly declared state. Police officers, local defense forces, and thousands of civilians blocked roads with lorries, buses, and farm machinery. Bridges were barricaded, supply routes cut, and the advance of the Yugoslav Army slowed at almost every turn. The fighting that followed became known as the Ten Day War. Compared with the conflicts that would soon follow, it was relatively brief. Around 70 people lost their lives, and after mediation by the European Community, a ceasefire was agreed. The Brioni Agreement temporarily suspended Slovenia's declaration of independence, but in reality the Yugoslav Army withdrew, and Slovenia was effectively free. For many outside the Balkans, it seemed the crisis might end there. It did not. While Slovenia was largely ethnically Slovene, Croatia faced a far more complicated future. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs lived within Croatia's borders, particularly in regions such as the Krajina. Many feared that independence would leave them vulnerable in a new Croatian state. At the same time, many Croats believed independence was their long overdue right after decades within Yugoslavia. Fear grew on both sides. Roadblocks appeared. Weapons were distributed. Communities that had lived alongside one another for generations began to divide. The arguments were no longer taking place in Parliament. They were taking place in villages, streets, and family homes. As summer turned to autumn, isolated clashes became full-scale fighting. Towns that had once echoed with children's voices now echoed with artillery. Families who had spent generations building homes packed what they could carry into cars and tractors, leaving behind almost everything they owned. Some believed they would return within days. Many never did. One city soon came to symbolize the brutality of the war. Vukovar. For nearly three months, Croatian defenders and civilians endured relentless shelling as the city was surrounded by the Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitary forces. Homes, schools, churches, and hospitals were hit. Water and electricity became scarce. Thousands of civilians sheltered underground while the city above them was slowly reduced to rubble. When Vukovar finally fell in November 1991, the destruction shocked the world. Images of shattered buildings and exhausted survivors appeared on television screens across Europe. Even more horrifying were the events that followed. Hundreds of prisoners taken from Vukovar hospital were later executed at the nearby Ovcara farm. It became one of the first major atrocities of the Yugoslav wars and would later form part of international war crimes prosecutions. Further south, another historic city came under attack. Dubrovnik, known as the Pearl of the Adriatic. Its medieval walls had stood for centuries, surviving earthquakes, empires, and changing rulers. Now they faced shellfire. The bombardment of a city celebrated around the world for its cultural heritage caused international outrage. Many who had pa