United Nations Protection Force
The United Nations Protection Force was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. The force was formed in February 1992 and its mandate ended in March 1995, with the peacekeeping mission restructuring into three other forces in the Republic of Macedonia, and the United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia.
Personnel
UNPROFOR was composed of nearly 25,000 personnel. It consisted of troops from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the UN, there were 167 fatalities amongst UNPROFOR personnel during the course of the force's mandate. Of those who died, three were military observers, 159 were other military personnel, one was a member of the civilian police, two were international civilian staff and two were local staff.The commanders of UNPROFOR were:
| Name | Country | From | To |
| Lieutenant-General Satish Nambiar | India | March 1992 | March 1993 |
| Lieutenant-General Lars-Eric Wahlgren | Sweden | March 1993 | June 1993 |
| General Jean Cot | France | June 1993 | March 1994 |
| General Bertrand de Sauville de La Presle | France | March 1994 | March 1995 |
| General Bernard Janvier | France | March 1995 | January 1996 |
Prominent officers :
- Major-General Lewis MacKenzie Sector Sarajevo 1992
- General Philippe Morillon from October 1992 to July 1993
- Lieutenant-General Francis Briquemont 12 July 1993 to 24 January 1994
- Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Rose from 24 January 1994 to 25 February 1995
- Lieutenant-General Rupert Smith from 25 February 1995
Mandate
Croatia
UNPROFOR was created by UN Security Council Resolution 743 on 21 February 1992 during the Croatian War of Independence. The initial mandate of UNPROFOR was to ensure stable conditions for peace talks, and security in three demilitarized "safe-haven" enclaves designated as United Nations Protected Areas. These were located in various regions before the Republic of Croatia received full membership status in the United Nations, but were controlled by the self-styled Republic of Serbian Krajina.Image:Hirlimann-aeroport-sarajevo.jpeg|thumb|The only airplane visible on Sarajevo airport, beyond repair since the beginning of the war. The airport was on the frontline between the Serbs and the Bosniaks.
In 1992, the mandate was extended to so-called "pink zones" controlling access to the UNPAs, some border control and monitoring of civilian access to the Pink Zones, and control of the demilitarisation of the Prevlaka peninsula near Dubrovnik.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In contrast to that of Croatia, the UNPROFOR mandate for Bosnia and Herzegovina was not to monitor a preexisting cease-fire. The mandate can essentially be divided into four phases:- Phase 1: Aid to Sarajevo - Beginning on 5 June 1992, UNPROFOR was responsible for the protection of Sarajevo airport as mandated by Resolution 758 for humanitarian purposes. UNPROFOR would run a security corridor for aid convoys between the airport and the city.
- Phase 2: Escort of Humanitarian Aid - On 14 September 1992, UNPROFOR was given a mandate by the United Nations Security Council to provide protection to humanitarian organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other activities as requested by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees such as scheduling convoys and negotiating safe passage. The Force would also be permitted to use self-defence if armed persons attempted to prevent it from carrying out its mandate.
- Phase 3: The Protection of Safe Areas - The next expansion of the mandate was on 16 April 1993 with United Nations Security Council Resolution 819 declaring the town of Srebrenica a "safe area" free "from armed attack or any other hostile act." In May 1993, Bihać, Sarajevo, Goražde, Žepa and Tuzla were also added as "safe areas".
- Phase 4: Monitoring the Muslim-Croat Federation and Weapons Exclusion Zones - Eventually, UNPROFOR monitored a US-brokered cease-fires in Bosnia in February 1994, creating the Muslim-Croat Federation. UNPROFOR was responsible for monitoring the zones of separation and weapons control points. In addition, the UNSC increased UNPROFOR's authorized strength to monitor weapons exclusion zones, but never actually altered the operation's mandate.
Course of action
February 1992 – March 1993
was director of UNPROFOR Civil Affairs at the beginning of the mission in February 1992. By the end of its first mandate in March 1993, UNPROFOR had some success in restoring peace in Croatia, notably obtaining the removal of the Yugoslav People's Army in May 1992. However, civil unrest was such that terror, discrimination and ethnic cleansing were still present. Local Serb forces managed to complete their cleansing of the UNPA areas, started in 1991, that left only 279 Croats there out of a pre-war population of 102,000.The situation was problematic, mostly due to non-cooperation by local Serb authorities, and because of later major Croat military offensives. Additionally, the situation for which UNPROFOR had been designed and anticipated for had significantly changed. The Croat side now refused to negotiate its sovereignty on the UNPAs and Pink Zones, which the Serb part would not accept. Establishment of the "Republic of Serbian Krajina" further complicated the situation.
The Opening of the Sarajevo Airport was conducted by the Canadian Operational Force, which moved within the Theater of Operations from Croatia to the combat zone of Sarajevo. The Canadian Force included the French-speaking Royal 22e Régiment, with the attachment of N Company of the English-speaking 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. The Canadian Contingent was deployed by train from Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen and CFB Lahr, Germany.
In spite of hostile actions, Sarajevo international airport had successfully remained open. In the period from 3 July 1992 to 31 January 1993, the humanitarian airlift organised by UNHCR under UNPROFOR protection brought in 2,476 aircraft carrying 27,460 tons of food, medicines and other relief goods.
Distribution of humanitarian aid was disrupted due to non-cooperation and even hostile actions of the parties in the field, especially from the Bosnian Serb forces. Nonetheless, from November 1992 to January 1993, a total of some 34,600 tons of relief supplies had been delivered to an estimated 800,000 beneficiaries in 110 locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
March 1993 – February 1994
Croat incursions
On 6 July 1993, new tensions arose following the Croatian government's decision to re-open the strategic Maslenica bridge on 18 July – Croatia was cut in half while the bridge was in Serb hands. The UNPROFOR forces who were mandated to monitor the Croat forces' withdrawal from the area had been unable to deploy, due to the refusal of access by Croat authorities. The Serbs shelled the bridge, partially destroying it on 2 August. On 12 August, negotiations for a cease-fire began in Geneva, but were unsuccessful. Eventually, Croat forces retreated to their positions previously occupied before the incursion.File:OGrady-conference-bosnia.jpg|thumb|left|Captain Scott F. O'Grady, whose F-16 Fighting Falcon was shot down over Bosnia on 2 June 1995, while he was flying in support of Operation Deny Flight.