Karin's Site

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a consequence of the instability in the wider region of the former Yugoslavia, and due to the involvement of neighboring countries Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. There was long-standing debate as to whether the conflict was a civil war or a war of aggression. Most Bosniaks and many Croats, western politicians and human rights organisations claimed that the war was a war of Serbian aggression, while Serbs often considered it a civil war. Bosnian Muslims, the only ethnic group loyal to the Bosnian government, were an easy target, because the Bosnian government forces were poorly equipped and unprepared for the war.

The International Court of Justice ruling of 26 February 2007 effectively determined the war's nature to be international, though exonerating Serbia of direct responsibility for the genocide committed by Serb forces of Republika Srpska. The ICJ concluded, however, that Serbia failed to prevent genocide committed by Serb forces and failed to punish those who carried out the genocide, especially general Ratko Mladić, and bring them to justice. Despite the evidence of these widespread killings, the siege of towns, mass rape, ethnic cleansing and torture in camps and detention centers conducted by different Serb forces especially in Prijedor, Zvornik, Banja Luka and Foča, the judges ruled that the criteria for genocide with the specific intent to destroy Bosnian Muslims were met only in Srebrenica in 1995.

The war was brought to an end after the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Paris on 14 December 1995. The accords are known as the Dayton Agreement.

The most recent research places the number of victims at around 100,000–110,000 killed (civilians and military), and 1.8 million displaced. Recent research have shown that most of the 97,207 documented casualties (soldiers and civilians) during Bosnian War were Bosniaks (66%), with Serbs in second (25%) and Croats (8%) in third place. However, 83 percent of civilian victims were Bosniaks, 10 percent were Serbs and more than 5 percent were Croats, followed by a small number of others such as Albanians or Roma. At least 30% of the Bosniak civilian victims were women and children. The percentage of Bosniak civilian victims would be higher had survivors of Srebrenica not reported 1,800 of their loved-ones as soldiers to access social services and other government benefits.

According to a detailed 1995 report about the war made by the CIA, 90% of the war crimes of the Bosnian War were committed by Serbs.

There is so much more i'd like to write, but that will do for now. You can find more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War

The following dates are taken from Sarajevo guide book. Might not be entirely impartial, but neither am i :)

Kosovar Albanians agitate to withdraw from Yugoslavia and form an independent state. 7 years later, Slobodan Milošević, the Serbian Communist Party chief, moves to assert authority over the autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo. Albanian-Serbian clashes in Kosovo bring the country's historic ethnic divisions back to centre stage.

1991

June 25           Following months of talks among six republics, Slovenia and Croatia declare independence
June 27           Yugoslav army attacks Slovenia
July                 Serb-Croat skirmishes, going on since early 1991, escalate into war between Croats and rebel Serbs, backed by the Yugoslav army, in Croatia
September       UN imposes arms embargo on all of former Yugoslavia
December        EC, under pressure from Germany, says it will recognize Croatia and Slovenia

1992

BiH referendum on independence from Yugoslavia; 64% of voters vote 'yes'.

February 25      The UN Security Council sends 14,000 peacekeeping troops to Croatia
February 29      Bosnia-Herzegovina declares independence. Bosnian Serbs proclaim a separate state. Fighting spreads.
March 2           Sarajevo. SDS party, headed by Radovan Karadžić (recently captured), sets up barricades
April 5              Bosnian Serb gunners begin their siege of Sarajevo
April 6              EC (now EU) recognizes Bosnia. The US follows on April 7. Bosnian Serb sniper kills two young women, aged 24 and 28, on a bridge behind the Parliament building in Sarajevo. Yugoslavian oppression of Bosnia begins.
May 5               Yugoslav Army relinquishes command of its estimated 100,000 troops in Bosnia, effectively creating a Bosnian Serb army
May 27             Mortar attack on a bread line in Sarajevo kills 18. More die later
May 30             UN imposes sanctions on a new, smaller Yugoslavia made up of Serbia and Montenegro, for fomenting war in Bosnia and Croatia.
June 29            Peacekeepers hoist the UN flag at Sarajevo airport after Serbs leave
July 3               International airlift to Sarajevo begins
August              Major international conference on Yugoslavia in London. Agreements are made on aid, cease-fire. These are never implemented.
September 19   UN Security Council drops Yugoslavia from General Assembly
November 16    UN Security Council authorises naval blockade of Serbia and Montenegro

1993

January 8         Bosnian Deputy Prime Minister Hakija Turajlić is killed by a Serb soldier whilst travelling in an armoured car near Sarajevo airport
February 22      UN Security Council sets up a war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia
March               Bosnian Croats and Muslims begin fighting over the 30% of Bosnia not seized by Bosnian Serbs (The Serbs wanted all lands where Serbs had a majority, eastern and western Bosnia. The Croats also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian)
April 12             NATO jets begin to enforce UN no-fly zone over Bosnia
April/May          Following the Serb assault on Srebrenica and dramatic crisis of refugees arriving in Tuzla, UN Security Council declares six "safe areas" for Bosnian Muslims: Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihać, Srebrenica, Žepa and Goražde
May 31              Yugoslav federal Parliament ousts Dobrica Ćosić, seen as too peacable by Milošević, as Yugoslav federal president. Thousands demonstrate, clashing with police in Belgrade
June 23             First US ambassador to Bosnia, Victor Jackovich, goes to Sarajevo, presents credentials, then leaves for his Vienna base
July 30              After 4 months of digging and building from both ends, a 760 metres long tunnel below Sarajevo airport is opened. It is the only way to bring food, munitions and equipment into the stricken city
November 9      Croat shelling destroys centuries-old bridge in Mostar, the symbol of past ethnic unity

1994

February 9       More than 68 people killed and 196 wounded as a mortar shell slams into downtown marketplace in Sarajevo
February 17      Karadžić agrees to remove guns from around Sarajevo if soldiers from Russia, a historical Serb ally, join peacekeeping mission
February 20      Russian peacekeepers arrive, NATO deadline expires; UN says it is satisfied heavy guns are being removed
March 18          Bosnia's Muslim-led government and Bosnian Croats sign a US-brokered accord, ending a year-long war
October 29       Bosnian government forces score their biggest victory of the war around Bihać, north-west Bosnia. Fierce Serb counterattack a week later
November 21    NATO launches its largest action ever, about 50 jets and support planes attacking Serb airfield, but fail to take out Serb jets attacking Bihać.
November 25    Serbs detain 55 Canadian peacekeepers against further air strikes. Eventually more than 400 peacekeepers held. NATO attempts air strike on Serbs near Bihać. Mission called off after UN fails to pinpoint targets.

1995

April 8              US aid plane hit by gunfire, all UN aid flights to Sarajevo cancelled
May 1               UN efforts to extend the truce fail, cease-fire expires. Croatia launches blitz offensive to recapture chunk of land from rebel Serbs. Serbs retaliate by rocketing Zagreb; six killed, nearly 200 wounded.
May 24             UN orders Serbs to return heavy weapons to UN control and remove all heavy weapons around Sarajevo
May 25             Serbs ignore the UN order. NATO attacks Serb ammunition depot. Serbs respond by shelling the "safe areas" including Tuzla, where 71 people are killed and over 150 injured.
May 26             NATO warplanes attack more ammunition depots. Serbs take UN peacekeepers to hostage
May 28             Bosnian Foreign Minister Irfan Ljubijankić shot down by rebel Serbs near Bihać
June 3              NATO defence chiefs, meeting in Paris, agree on Rapid Reaction Force to bolster UN peacekeepers in Bosnia
June 18            Last UN hostages released
June 30            German Parliament approves deployment of fighter jets for rapid reaction force
July 2               French peacekeepers start to use 120mm mortar - biggest calibre against Serbs in all of the war - on lone road into Sarajevo
July 11-17         Serbs overrun Srebrenica "safe area" after last-minute NATO air strikes fail to stop advance. Some 20,000 Muslim women, children and elderly expelled to Tuzla, bringing tales of atrocities. Some 4000 Muslim men who marched through Serb-held land reach government-held Tuzla; another 12,000 missing
July 25              War crimes tribunal indicts Karadžić and Mladić for genocide, crimes against humanity.
August 1           NATO threatens air strikes to protect all safe areas
August 3           Offer by rebel Serbs to bow to some Croatian authority rejected by government. Serbs shell Dubrovnik.
August 4           Croatia launches its massive assault on rebel Serbs in Knin, shelling UN peacekeepers and civilians. Recaptures most Serb-held land in four days.
August 10         US ambassador to UN calls for war crimes tribunal investigation after spy photos show evidence of mass graves of executed Bosnian Muslims (in Srebrenica - largest mass murder in Europe since WWII)
August 22        Serbs shell Sarajevo region, killing six and wounding 38, including six Egyptian peacekeepers
August 28        Bosnian Serbs fire shell into a busy Sarajevo market area, killing 43 and wounding 145
August 30        NATO planes, supported by ground troops of the UN Rapid Reaction Force, launch massive air strikes to silence Serb guns around Sarajevo. Serbs shell Sarajevo in response.
September 14   NATO suspends attacks. Milošević pledges that Bosnian Serbs will withdraw guns from around Sarajevo. Red Cross says about 8000 Muslims from Srebrenica missing and unaccounted for.
September 15   Serbs let Sarajevo airport reopen for the first time in 5 months
September 29   EU accuses Croatian army of murder, mass looting, arson
November 1      Bosnian peace talks open in Dayton, Ohio
November 16    Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and general Ratko Mladić, his military commander, indicted for war crimes for their alleged roles in Srebrenica massacre.
November 21    Balkan leaders' initial peace accord, granting 51% of Bosnian territory to Muslim-Croat federation and 49% to Serbs (Republika Srpska)
December 14    Presidents of warring parties sign peace plan, setting stage for deployment of 60,000 NATO troops.
December 15    UN Security Council transfers peacekeping duties to NATO who takes over command of Bosnian peace mission on December 20.