Signals of genocide in the years before the Srebrenica Massacre

The Bosnian War began in early 1992 after several conflicts that arose due to the splitting of Yugoslavia: a remnant of the old and ethnically diverse Ottoman Empire. Within the borders of Bosnia were three distinct ethnic groups: the Muslim Bosniaks, the Orthodox Christian Serbs, and the Catholic Croats. For many years, Yugoslavia had been under the control of the Serbs. When the nation split, Serb nationalist parties began campaigns to reclaim land with high Serb populations that they believed rightfully belonged to themselves. The Bosnian War was one of many of these conflicts, but is remembered primarily for the ethnic cleansing that was perpetrated on Bosnian soil at the hands of the Serbs, and the failure of the international community to take action against them despite clear warnings.

It was not until the Srebrenica Massacre that any serious action was taken by the United Nations, who, up until that point, avoided any mention of the term “genocide” when monitoring events in Bosnia, lest their members be obliged to fulfill their promises to prevent a tragedy like that of the Holocaust. The Srebrenica Massacre involved the systematic slaughter of 8,000 Bosniak men and young boys after the town, a UN-designated “safe-zone,” was seized by the Serbs on July 11, 1995 without a shot fired in resistance.

The following link provides a comprehensive overview of the years leading up to the Srebrenica massacre. This essay is quite lengthy and might be an upsetting read for some, but everything it outlines shows just how negligent the United Nations was with handling Bosnia.

Prelude to the srebrenica genocide

As seen above, from the very beginning of the Bosnian War, the attacking Serbs engaged in a near-endless slew of disgusting human-rights violations. With so many terrible actions, and outright statements that they intended to wipe an entire peoples off the face of the Earth, it is amazing and disheartening that it took over 3 years for the international community to take a stand.

My posts to this blog will focus largely on the reactions to the genocide within Bosnia, both during the event and reflections now, 20 years on. This particular post is an introduction to understanding the scope of the entire conflict.