US fighter jets to fly over Bosnia in a sign of support as Serbs call for secession

Two U.S. fighter jets will fly over Bosnia in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country’s integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Two U.S. fighter jets are set to fly over Bosnia on Monday in a demonstration of support for the Balkan country's integrity in the face of increasingly secessionist policies of the Bosnian Serb pro-Russia leader Milorad Dodik.

The U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly as part of joint air-to-ground training involving American and Bosnian forces. The flyovers will take part in the regions of the eastern town of Tuzla and northern Brcko, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo.

“This bilateral training is an example of advanced military-to-military cooperation that contributes to peace and security in the Western Balkans as well as demonstrates the United States’ commitment to ensuring the territorial integrity of BiH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in the face of ... secessionist activity," the statement said.

“The United States has underscored that the BiH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Constitution provides no right of secession, and it will act if anyone tries to change this basic element" of the Dayton peace agreements that ended the 1992-95 war in the country, the statement added.

The ethnic conflict in the 1990s erupted because Bosnia's Serbs wanted to create their own state and join neighboring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed before the war ended in a U.S.-brokered peace accord that created Serb and Bosniak-Croat entities held together by joint institutions.