The Bombing of Lužane - the Attack on the Rescuers

On 1 May 1999, NATO committed one of the worst war crimes - a double attack on the same target with the intent to kill the rescuers and the people helping the injured.

The double-attack tactic

This tactic is called the "double-tap" and is considered a war crime:

1. The first attack hits the bridge - 3 dead
2. Citizens and the ambulance service come to help
3. 10 minutes later - a SECOND ATTACK targets the rescuers

Victims of the first attack

In the first attack on the bridge, 3 civilians were killed:

• Milovan Kostić (56 years old, bus driver)
• Dragica Nikolić (48 years old, passenger)
• Bojan Stanković (19 years old, student)

Victims of the second attack - the rescuers

In the second attack, which targeted the people who were helping, 5 people were killed:

• Dr Zoran Đorđević (42 years old, emergency doctor)
• Milica Pavlović (34 years old, nurse)
• Dragan Marković (38 years old, ambulance driver)
• Jovica Petrović (52 years old, citizen who was helping)
• Slobodan Ilić (45 years old, citizen who was helping)

A war crime by definition

The Geneva Convention (Additional Protocol I, Article 15) prohibits attacks on:

• Medical personnel
• Ambulance vehicles (marked with a red cross)
• People providing first aid

The international court

This case was documented as a war crime, but no one responsible was brought to justice.

Testimony of a surviving doctor

Dr Nebojša Jovanović, who survived, stated: "We heard the explosion and went to help. We saw the injured and began to provide aid. Then they came again. They knew what they were doing - they deliberately targeted the ambulance with the red cross."