The Wars in the Balkans

With the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union, there was a widespread belief that the Cold War was over and a “peace dividend” was on the horizon. Unfortunately, it was a short-term belief. The first major setback ocurred when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The Gulf War followed and took a chunk out of the perceived dividend. As soon as hostilities ceased in the Gulf, unrest gave way to war in the Balkans.
At the end of the Cold War, the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began to dissolve. When Slovenia and Croatia sought to become independent from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, the conflicts began. A ten-day war in Slovenia was followed by all-out warfare in Croatia. The bulk of the Croatian fighting lasted until a U.N.-brokered ceasefire took effect on January 4, 1992 (small skirmishes continued until 1995).
The stage was set for Bosnia-Herzegovina. They declared independence and on April 6, 1992 fighting broke out on the streets of Sarajevo. The war continued until December of 1995. I became part of the CNN coverage team after our camerawoman, Margaret Moth, was wounded by sniper fire and nearly died. I rotated in and out of the war until the end of the armed conflict. Most of the following items were acquired during that period.

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