logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2024
8m 57s

Nato bombs Serbian state television head...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In April 1999 Nato bombed the Serbian state TV station in Belgrade, killing 16 people.

It was part of a military campaign to force Serbia to withdraw from Kosovo.

Mike Lanchin has been speaking to one of the survivors, Dragan Šuković, a TV technician, who was working at the station that night.

This programme was first broadcast in 2015.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: The Radio Television of Serbia building. Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Yesterday
Colombia's Salt Cathedral
<p>In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine in Colombia. </p><p>The idea came from the miners building makeshift altars in the mine in the 1930s, to pray for their safety before starting their shifts. </p><p>It’s now a major tourist attraction, a ... Show More
10m 35s
Nov 24
Toy Story: the first digitally-animated feature film
<p>Released in 1995, this buddy movie about a cowboy doll and a toy astronaut was the first to use entirely computer-generated images. </p><p>The story, about a group of toys who come alive when humans are not around, appealed to audiences around the world.</p><p>In 2017, animato ... Show More
10m 47s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2019
Balkan Border Wars - Serbia and Kosovo
Old enemies Serbia and Kosovo discuss what for some is unthinkable - an ethnic land swap. This dramatic proposal is one of those being talked about as a means of normalising relations between these former foes. Since the bloody Kosovo war ended with NATO intervention in 1999, civ ... Show More
28m 44s
Sep 2021
Why is the long-running dispute between Kosovo and Serbia escalating?
It's been 21 years since the end of the Kosovo war in Europe's Western Balkans. But tension between Kosovo and Serbia have reignited recently over car licence plates, with both sides deploying soldiers and special police to the border. So why is their long-running dispute escalat ... Show More
21m 57s
Aug 2023
Kosovo–Serbia relations
After unilaterally declaring independence in 2008, Kosovo has been recognised by many countries, but not Serbia, which still claims it as one of its provinces. After the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Serbia cracked down on Kosovo separatists, resulting in a NATO ... Show More
18m 34s
Dec 2021
What's going wrong in the Balkans?
It’s been more than two decades since the war in Bosnia ended. It remains one of the darkest chapters in modern European history and cost over 100,000 lives. Since the Dayton Agreement was reached in 1995 a fragile peace has held, but last month the international community's chie ... Show More
49m 11s
Jan 2024
Serbia’s real life ‘bots’
Over the summer, a mysterious Twitter persona published details of over 14,500 social media accounts - all of them controlled by real-life Serbian citizens, it's claimed. They stand accused of posting… whatever the President’s party tells them to.It’s long been rumoured that Serb ... Show More
19m 2s
Mar 2021
Vjosa Osmani: Acting President of Kosovo
The legacy of conflict and hate left behind after the collapse of Yugoslavia is not easily overcome. They know that in Kosovo, which declared independent statehood a dozen years ago but has yet to make a lasting peace with neighbouring Serbia. Right now Kosovo is experiencing a m ... Show More
23m 29s
May 2022
Putin’s Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas
How It Happened: Putin’s Invasion Part V: The Fight for the Donbas goes straight to the frontlines of the war, seen through the eyes of a journalist who has been covering the war there and a soldier who has been fighting there, both since 2014. After the failed effort to take Kyi ... Show More
33m 31s
Dec 2022
How fragile is peace between Serbia and Kosovo?
After weeks of protests, ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have agreed to take down their barricades. Hopes are high that the latest flare-up in tensions will now calm down, but how fragile is the peace between Serbs and Kosovars?  Join host Imran Khan. Guests:  Mimoza Kusari-Lila - Former ... Show More
22m 20s