Yugoslavia The Flash of War

A hotbed of nationalism that sparked World War I, the Balkans ignite a new European crisis as Serbs and Croatians open full-scale civil war

Not long ago, the reputation of the Balkans as the tinderbox of Europe seemed , to have faded. Now the region is once again in flames, igniting fears of a broader conflagration. For years, Yugoslavia was the acceptable face of communism: estranged from Moscow, a pioneer of peaceful coexistence with the West, a country whose rugged Adriatic coastline attracted tens of thousands of vacationers. But last week that idyllic image was irreparably shattered. After three months of ethnic skirmishing, hapless Yugoslavia erupted in the first full-scale war in Europe since 1945. The fighting between federal forces and breakaway Croatia gave Europe...

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