In October and November 1994, allied Muslim-Croat forces launched a major offensive around the town of Bihać, in far northwestern Bosnia, which had been declared a safe zone for refugees by the UN.

The Serbs soon launched a counterattack, and in support of their operations, they carried out air strikes with aircraft based at a former JNA military airport in Udbina, southwest of Bihać, within the boundaries of the Serbian Krajina.

[3] The Krajina Serbs attacks began on 10 November on Cazin and Bihać itself, but these ones only involved the use of heavy artillery and SA-2 surface-to-air missiles in a ground-to-ground role.

[10] The commander of the Serb airbase, Colonel Ratko Dopudja, acknowledged the loss of two military personnel (Branko Jerković and Darko Galović)[13] and several wounded.

[15] The next day, NATO launched a reconnaissance air package including RAF Jaguars, French Mirage 2000s and USAF F-16s to search the area.

[3] Elsewhere, Serb authorities in Bosnia reacted by taking 500 UNPROFOR hostages by early December, including three that were forced to remain on the tarmac of Banja Luka airstrip as human shields.

[19] The Serbian seizure of hostages and escalating harassment of NATO aircraft compelled the alliance to suspend flights over Bosnia and Croatia by 2 December.

[18] After former U.S. president Jimmy Carter brokered a four-month ceasefire agreement, NATO operations were scaled down and Serbs forces released all UNPROFOR hostages.

[18] Notwithstanding, NATO surveillance continued, and on 17 December a French navy Super Etendard from the aircraft carrier Foch was hit by a shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile.