In the final days of August 1995 , NATO launched an air campaign targeting the VRS , codenamed Operation Deliberate Force . It was launched in response to the second Markale massacre of 28 August , which came on the heels of the Srebrenica massacre . Airstrikes began on 30 August , initially targeting VRS air defences , and striking targets near Sarajevo . The campaign was briefly suspended on 1 September and its scope was expanded to target artillery and storage facilities around the city . The bombing resumed on 5 September , and its scope extended to VRS air defences near Banja Luka by 9 September as NATO had nearly exhausted its list of targets near Sarajevo . On 13 September , the Bosnian Serbs accepted NATO 's demand for the establishment of an exclusion zone around Sarajevo and the campaign ceased
Srebrenica massacre
Srebrenica massacre
Operation Sana