Operation CHAPERON

February 1996 - September 2001

Under Operation CHAPERON, Canada provided the United Nations Military Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), with one Canadian Forces member to serve as a United Nations Military Observer (UNMO). This contribution was maintained from 1996 to 2001.

The Prevlaka Peninsula extends into the Adriatic Sea from the southernmost tip of Croatia. It is claimed by both Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia because it controls the entrance to Kotor Bay, where the main Yugoslav naval bases are. In July 1991, when Croatia declared independence, Yugoslav forces tried to capture the Prevlaka Peninsula (shelling the town of Dubrovnik in the process) and were driven back by the Croatians. The UN halted hostilities in February 1992, demilitarized the Prevlaka Peninsula and established a zone free of heavy weapons for five kilometres on either side of the Croatian–Yugoslav border. UNMOP was established to monitor the border, the Prevlaka Peninsula and Kotor Bay from its base in Dubrovnik.