Bombing of the General Staff Building - Civilian Casualties in the Surrounding Area

On 18 April 1999, NATO bombed the building of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army in the centre of Belgrade, causing civilian casualties in a densely populated part of the city.

A military target in a residential part of the city

The General Staff building is located in the centre of Belgrade, surrounded by residential buildings, schools and hospitals. Bombing such a facility in a densely populated area constitutes a violation of the principle of proportionality.

Civilian casualties

In the attacks, 14 civilians from the surrounding buildings and streets were killed:

• Jovanka Pavlović (68 years old)
• Dragan Simić (42 years old, doctor)
• Svetlana Nikolić (35 years old, teacher)
• Milan Jovanović (51 years old)
• Vera Petrović (59 years old)
• Aleksandar Marković (28 years old, student)
• Jelena Stanković (24 years old, nurse)
• Branislav Đorđević (46 years old)
• Slavica Ilić (38 years old)
• Miloš Popović (33 years old)
• Gordana Simić (41 years old)
• Nikola Petrović (55 years old)
• Dušan Marković (62 years old)
• Jelica Stojanović (49 years old)

Material damage

In addition to the General Staff building, the following were damaged:

• 20+ residential buildings
• The "Kralj Petar I" school
• A gynaecology and obstetrics clinic
• Office buildings

The proportionality of the attack

Human Rights Watch raised the question of proportionality: "Did the military advantage of destroying the General Staff building justify the risk of 14+ civilian casualties?"

A modern "hole" in Belgrade

The General Staff building has never been rebuilt and today stands as a "monument" to the NATO bombing in the very centre of Belgrade.