Balkans 35th Commemoration

The Berlin Wall comes down, heralding the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War. The Warsaw Pact and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) splinter into independent nations.

• February. The United Nations Protection Force I (UNPROFOR I) is created to stabilize the situation in Croatia. 
• April. UNPROFOR's 12 battalions from various nations deploy to the newly-created United Nations Protected Areas (UNPA) in the Krajinas and Slavonia. These areas are demilitarized and the UN commits to protecting their populations from further fighting. These are divided into four sectors: Sector South, Sector North, Sector East, and Sector West.  Canada's rotating contribution of one 850-person battalion (known as Canadian Battalion One or CANBAT 1), as well as a 250-person combat engineer regiment, is designated Operation HARMONY. (The engineer commitment was later reduced to a composite field squadron.)
• June. Three-way fighting begins between Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Serbs in Bosnia-Hercegovina.  The situation in Sarajevo, where UNPROFOR headquarters is located, deteriorates rapidly.
• June-July. Canadian troops (1er Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, augmented by November Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment) deploy from their base in Sector West (Croatia) to open Sarajevo airport.  For these actions, 1 R22R was subsequently awarded the Commander-in-Chief's Unit Commendation, created by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in 2002.
• September. UNPROFOR II is created in part to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Bosnia via convoys from its airhead in Sarajevo.  It expands to 19,000 military personnel from at least ten countries, organized in 14 battalions.
• Canada's contribution to UNPROFOR II is known as Operation CAVALIER.  It consists of a 1200-person rotating light armoured regiment (ie, not including tanks), augmented by infantry, engineers, and other specialists like a field surgical team (FST).  It is known as CANBAT 2.
• Logistic support was provided initially by a 36-person National Support Element based in Croatia.  This was later expanded to become a 113-person Canadian Contingent Support Group (CCSG), and then a 271-person Canadian Logistics Battalion or CANLOGBAT.  The NSE and CCSG operated from Camp Pollom in Daruvar, Croatia.
• Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police serve with the United Nations Civilian Police (UNCIVPOL), monitoring belligerent police forces.

• February-March. UN establishes Sarajevo Exclusion Zone, and NATO threatens airstrikes, in an attempt to compel Serbian forces to remove their heavy weapons from the area surrounding the city
• February. United States Air Force jets shoot down four Serbian aircraft near Banja Luka.
• April. NATO aircraft fly close support missions against Serbian forces surrounding the UN Safe Area of Gorazde.
• Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims sign a ceasefire agreement with each other, forming a joint command to oppose the Bosnian Serbs.

• The airport at Sarajevo re-opened to civilian air traffic on 16 August 1996. IFOR was replaced by SFOR, Dec. DeinDecemberDDecember
• IFOR was replaced by the NNANATStabilization Force (SFOR) in December 1996. Its role was to create a secure environment for both local authorities and international agencies while Bosnia and Herzegovina became a democratic country. NATO provided about 12,000 troops, including approximately 1,200 Canadians. The CAF provided infantry, armour, engineers, helicopters and support elements on a six-month rotational basis.
• December. IFOR mission ends and transitions to NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia.  This 12,000-member force includes about 1200Canadians serving in six-month deployments as part of Operation PALLADIUM.
• Canadian civilian police participate in the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), and later with the European Union Police Mission (EUPM), to assist in maintaining law and order through to 2006.

• March.  NATO mounts Operation ALLIED FORCE, a 78-day bombing campaign to deter Serbia from further aggression in Kosovo.  This includes bombing targets in Serbia itself, including within the capital city Belgrade. Canada triples its contribution to 18 Hornets.
• March. NATO establishes Kosovo Force (KFOR) to support UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in securing and maintaining peace there.
• June. Canada contributes 800 personnel and eight helicopters to KFOR to enforce the peace in Kosovo in Operation KINETIC.
• July. Canada contributes a further 500 infantry and armoured troops, including Leopard tanks, to KFOR.
• Members of the RCMP and 20 other Canadian police organizations participate in UNMIK through to March 2004. Up to 92 officers a year help to keep the peace and train Kosovo police members.

August-September. Canada contributes 200 personnel to assist with NATO's 4,500-member Operation ESSENTIAL HARVEST. The role of this short mission is to disarm Albanian paramilitary groups operating in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

• Canada's contribution to SFOR has been reduced to 650 troops per rotation.
• SFOR becomes a European Union mission (EUFOR) by the end of the year. Unit rotations as part of Op PALLADIUM cease. Canada contributes an 85-member liaison and observation team to EUFOR.