The Second Bombing of Surdulica - Escalation of the Attacks

On 19 April 1999, only a few days after the first attack, NATO once again bombed Surdulica, a small town in southern Serbia, killing 20 civilians.

A double attack on the same town

This was the second mass attack on Surdulica within a week. Many believe this was a deliberate punishment of a town that "dared to live normally".

Targeting a residential block

This time, the missiles directly hit a residential block, with no military target anywhere nearby:

• The "Mladost" residential building - completely destroyed
• 3 surrounding buildings - heavily damaged
• A children's playground - destroyed

Victims - mostly women and children

20 civilians were killed:

• 7 children (aged 2-14)
• 9 women
• 4 elderly men

Fleeing the town

After the second attack, most of the remaining inhabitants of Surdulica left the town. Of the pre-war population of 11,000, only 2,000 remained.

Psychological destruction

The local doctor Dragan Ilić described it: "NATO bombed us twice in a week. People were in panic, no one could sleep. The children screamed every time they heard an aircraft."

Without justification

NATO never gave a satisfactory explanation for why it bombed Surdulica - a small town without any military targets - TWICE.