December 7, 2017

On Nov. 22, 2017, the United Nations (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted former Bosnian Serb army leader Ratko Mladić of genocide and other crimes committed during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). The focal point of Mladić’s trial was the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre of thousands of Bosniaks (sometimes called Bosnian Muslims) by Bosnian Serb forces. Mladić was sentenced to life in prison.

Supporters of Ratko Mladić wave flags and a banner with his likeness during a rally in Belgrade, Serbia, where many consider him a hero. Mladić was sentenced to life in prison for genocide and other war crimes on Nov. 22, 2017. Credit: © Darko Vojinovic, AP Photo

The Bosnian War was a conflict between ethnic groups mainly in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Through most of the 1900’s, Bosnia-Herzegovina (often simply called Bosnia) had been part of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia began to break into smaller countries in the early 1990’s, and Bosnia became independent in March 1992. Following independence, Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian forces fought for control of the new country. The war, which often saw violence inflicted upon opposing civilian populations, ended in December 1995.

In July 1995, Serb troops captured the disputed city of Srebrenica. A group of about 15,000 Bosniaks attempted to flee the area, but the Serbs captured most of them. The Serbs claimed that the Bosniak civilians under their control would be transferred to safe areas. The Serbs sent the Bosniak women and children away on buses and trucks. But most of the Bosniak men were executed.

In 2015, Bosniak women weep over the remains of men killed in the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Many years after the massacre, bodies were exhumed from mass graves for identification. Credit: © Amel Emric, AP Photo

Investigators later found evidence that the Serbs killed over 7,000 Bosniaks at Srebrenica. The UN convicted several Bosnian Serb military leaders for their roles in the massacre. The UN also charged Mladić, then head of the Bosnian Serb army, and Radovan Karadžić, then leader of the Bosnian Serbs, with war crimes. Karadžić was captured in 2008. His trial began in 2009 at a UN criminal court in The Hague, the Netherlands. Mladić was arrested in 2011. His trial began in 2012. In 2016, Karadžić was found guilty of genocide and other war crimes and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In 2017, a Serbian court dealt with the issue for the first time as eight former Bosnian Serb police officers accused of participating in the massacre went on trial in Belgrade. On November 22, the UN convicted Mladić on two charges of genocide, five charges of crimes against humanity, and four counts of war crimes. A week later, on November 29, Slobodan Praljak, a Bosnian Croat military commander during the Bosnian War, died after drinking poison in a UN courtroom upon the confirmation of his 20-year prison sentence for war crimes.

July 13, 2015

July 11 marked the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica (SREH breh neet sah) Massacre during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces captured Srebrenica, a town in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina, and massacred thousands of Bosniaks (sometimes called Bosnian Muslims) who had taken refuge there.

A Bosnian Muslim woman, Ajsa Husejnovic (left), cries with family members near the coffin of her husband. His coffin was among 136 displayed at a memorial center near Srebrenica. The coffins were scheduled for burial on July 11, 2015. Forensic scientists have worked for years to identify victims of the Srebrenica Massacre. Newly identified victims from mass graves are still being re-interred in Srebrenica.
Credit: © Amel Emric, AP Photo

Shortly after the war began, the United Nations (UN) sent peacekeeping troops to the area, mainly to protect aid shipments to war refugees. In 1993, the UN declared Srebrenica, four other towns, and the city of Sarajevo (SARuh YAY voh) to be safe areas within Bosnia. Civilians in these areas were supposed to be protected from attack. The UN stationed lightly armed Dutch soldiers in and around Srebrenica to enforce the boundaries of the safe area.

When Serb troops captured Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, the Dutch forces lacked the military strength to stop them. A group of about 15,000 Bosniaks attempted to flee the safe area, but the Serbs captured most of them. Some escaped or were killed trying to escape. The Serbs claimed that the Bosniak civilians who had not fled would be transferred to other safe areas. They separated the men from the women and children, who were sent away on buses and trucks. Over the next few days, the Serbs executed most of the men. Investigators later found evidence that the Serbs killed over 7,000 Bosniak men. The UN convicted several Bosnian Serb military leaders for their roles in the massacre.

At a solemn ceremony marking the anniversary on July 11, 2015, protestors hurled stones and bottles at Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, a former radical Serb nationalist and ally of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. During the Bosnian War, Milosevic had urged Serbs to practice the policy of ethnic cleansing—to rid Serbian-held areas of all non-Serbs. In 2001, Milosevic was arrested and delivered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. His trial on war crimes charges began in 2002, and he died in his prison cell in March 2006.

Other World Book articles 

• Bosnia-Herzegovina (1995-a Back in time article) 
• Forensic science (Uses for forensic science)
• Human rights (2001-a Back in time article) 
• War crime
• Yugoslavia: “A Decade of Ruin” (a Special report)