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Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mobilization, or conscription, of men of military age, beginning in, or around, June 1998 to go to fight in Kosovo

According to the Chief of Staff of the Ambassador's Office of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington, D.C. the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not engage in any mobilization, or conscription, of men of military age to go to fight in Kosovo in 1998 (14 July 1999). He stated that even if the government had wanted to, which they did not, the stabilization force of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would not have allowed it. When asked if it was possible that an unofficial mobilization of men had occurred in the summer of 1998, he stated that it was possible but unlikely, in the Republic of Srpska. He stated that if it had occurred it likely would have involved ethnic Serbs calling on other Serbs to go to Kosovo to help their "brothers."

These statements were supported by the Executive Director of the Open Society Fund in Sarajevo and the Director of the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Sarajevo (15 July 1999). Both of these persons stated clearly that there was no official mobilization of forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the conflict in Kosovo in 1998. Both said that unofficial mobilization might have taken place, although the Executive Director of the Open Society Fund said that he doubted this since the monitoring done by NATO is "very tough." The Director of the ICG said that volunteers from the Republic of Srpska might have gone to Kosovo and that "some Serbs might have come under pressure from Serb political parties in Srpska."

It would appear from a 5 July 1999 ICG report on the Republic of Srpska that Bosnian Serbs may have fought in Kosovo in 1999 - the ICG warns that: "further collateral damage may occur when radicalised Bosnian Serb paramilitaries return from the front in Kosovo."

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Chief of Staff of the Ambassador's Office, Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Washington, D.C. 14 July 1999. Telephone interview.

Director, International Crisis Group (ICG), Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. 15 July 1999. Telephone interview.

Executive Director, Open Society Fund, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. 15 July 1999. Telephone interview.

International Crisis Group (ICG). 5 July 1999. Republika Srpska in the Post-Kosovo Era: Collateral Damage and Transformation. <http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/ICG-Reports-Bosnia.html> [Accessed 13 July 1999]

Additional Sources Consulted

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1998.

Resource Centre. Bosnia country file. May 1998 - July 1999.

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).

Topics: Military service,