By BRYN WEESE, Parliamentary Bureau
OTTAWA — Almost 20 years after war broke out in former Yugoslavia, Canada is pulling its last troops out of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The six Canadian Forces members, who have been based in Sarajevo as part of Task Force Balkans, are heading home as Operation BRONZE — the last of many Canadian operations over the past 19 years in the area — is set to close.
The focus of Operation BRONZE, which started in 2004, was defence reform and the re-integration of veterans of the Balkan wars into civil society.
Canadian Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina were also helping the country join NATO's Partnership for Peace program.
"This is a proud day for both Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina," said Defence Minister Peter MacKay in a news statement released Monday. "Over the last two decades, Canadians have worked with the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and our UN and NATO partners, to secure a brighter future for the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Canada and the CF can be proud of having helped make Bosnia-Herzegovina a safer and more stable place."
Canadians first arrived in the Balkans when war broke out in 1991. Since then, more than 40,000 members of the Canadian Forces served in the region, according to the Department of Defence, and 23 were killed while serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina alone.
The wars in the former Yugoslavia, sometimes called the Third Balkan War, was marked with brutal ethnic conflicts and genocide that resulted in many human rights atrocities. The UN has established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Canadian Forces have been supporting the tribunal with the detention of persons indicted for war crimes.
While Canadian Forces are pulling out of Bosnia-Herzegovina, they will still have a Balkan presence.
Five senior Canadian Forces offices will remain as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Security Force.
