Bosnian War: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The '''Bosnian War'''{{efn|name=nm}} ({{lang-sh|Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini}} / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international [[armed conflict]] that took place in [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started on 6 April 1992, following several earlier violent incidents. It ended on 14 December 1995 when the [[Dayton accords|Dayton Accords]] were signed. The main belligerents were the forces of the [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], the [[Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia|Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia]], and the [[Republika Srpska (1992–1995)|Republika Srpska]], the latter two entities being [[proto-state~~|proto-states~~]]s led and supplied by [[Croatia]] and [[Republic of Serbia (1992–2006)|Serbia]], respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/reports/2004/ij/icty/2.htm|title=ICTY: Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107224919/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/ij/icty/2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/91/13685.pdf|title=ICJ: The genocide case: Bosnia v. Serbia – See Part VI – Entities involved in the events 235–241|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=1 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301032417/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/91/13685.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The war was part of the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]]. Following the [[Slovenia~~|Slovenian~~]]n and Croatian secessions from the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] in 1991, the multi-ethnic [[Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] – which was inhabited by mainly [[Muslims (ethnic group)|Muslim]] [[Bosniaks]] (44%), [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]] (32.5%) and [[Catholic]] [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]] (17%) – passed a referendum for independence on 29 February 1992. Political representatives of the Bosnian Serbs boycotted the referendum and rejected its outcome. Anticipating the outcome of the referendum, the [[Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] adopted the [[Constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] on 28 February 1992. Following Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of [[independence]] (which gained international recognition) and following the withdrawal of [[Alija Izetbegović]] from the previously signed [[Peace plans proposed before and during the Bosnian War#Carrington–Cutileiro plan|Cutileiro Plan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/~sstedman/2006.readings/lisbon.pdf|title=From Lisbon to Dayton: International Mediation and the Bosnia Crisis|access-date=16 November 2019|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123233716/https://web.stanford.edu/~sstedman/2006.readings/lisbon.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> (which proposed a division of Bosnia into ethnic [[Canton (administrative division)|cantons]]), the [[Bosnian Serbs]], led by [[Radovan Karadžić]] and supported by the government of [[Slobodan Milošević]] and the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA), mobilised their forces inside Bosnia and Herzegovina to secure ethnic Serb territory. The war soon spread across the country, accompanied by [[ethnic cleansing]].

The conflict was initially between Yugoslav Army units in Bosnia which later transformed into the [[Army of Republika Srpska]] (VRS) on the one side, and the [[Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (ARBiH), largely composed of Bosniaks, and the Croat forces in the [[Croatian Defence Council]] (HVO) on the other side. Tensions between Croats and Bosniaks increased throughout late 1992, resulting in the escalation of the [[Croat–Bosniak War]] in early 1993.{{sfn|Christia|2012|p=172}} The Bosnian War was characterised by bitter fighting, indiscriminate [[shell (projectile)|shelling]] of cities and towns, ethnic cleansing, and [[Wartime sexual violence|systematic mass rape]], mainly perpetrated by Serb,{{sfn|Wood|2013|pp=140, 343}} and to a lesser extent, Croat<ref>[[#Forsythe|Forsythe 2009]], p. 145</ref> and Bosniak<ref name="fas.org">{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/bosnia_handout.html|title=Bosnia Handout|website=fas.org|access-date=14 May 2016|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019032856/https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/bosnia_handout.html|url-status=live}}</ref> forces. Events such as the [[siege of Sarajevo]] and the July 1995 [[Srebrenica massacre]] later became iconic of the conflict. The massacre of over 8,000 Bosniak males by Serb forces in [[Srebrenica]] is the only incident in Europe to have been recognized as a genocide since [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|title='It's getting out of hand': genocide denial outlawed in Bosnia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/24/genocide-denial-outlawed-bosnia-srebrenica-office-high-representative|date=24 July 2021|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 July 2021|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724042604/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/24/genocide-denial-outlawed-bosnia-srebrenica-office-high-representative|url-status=live}}</ref>

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The Serbs, although initially militarily superior due to the weapons and resources provided by the JNA, eventually lost momentum as the Bosniaks and Croats allied against the Republika Srpska in 1994 with the creation of the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] following the [[Washington Agreement]]. [[Pakistan]] ignored the [[United Nations|UN]]'s ban on the supply of arms and airlifted [[Anti-tank guided missile|anti-tank missiles]] to the Bosnian Muslims, while after the Srebrenica and [[Markale massacre|Markale]] massacres, [[NATO]] intervened in 1995 with [[Operation Deliberate Force]], targeting the positions of the Army of the Republika Srpska, which proved key in ending the war.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Cohen|author-link=Roger Cohen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/31/world/conflict-balkans-overview-nato-presses-bosnia-bombing-vowing-make-sarajevo-safe.html|title=Conflict in the Balkans: The overview; NATO presses Bosnia bombing, vowing to make Sarajevo safe|work=The New York Times|date=31 August 1995|access-date=5 May 2011|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919211646/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/31/world/conflict-balkans-overview-nato-presses-bosnia-bombing-vowing-make-sarajevo-safe.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=To End a War|last=Holbrooke|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Holbrooke|publisher=Modern Library|year=1999|page=[https://archive.org/details/toendwar00holb_0/page/102 102]|isbn=978-0-375-75360-2|oclc=40545454|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/toendwar00holb_0/page/102}}</ref> The war ended after the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Paris on 14 December 1995. Peace negotiations were held in [[Dayton, Ohio]], and were finalised on 21 November 1995.<ref>{{cite web|date=30 March 1996|url=https://1997-2001.state.gov/www/regions/eur/bosnia/bosagree.html|title=Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia|publisher=US Department of State|access-date=19 March 2006|archive-date=22 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522194450/http://1997-2001.state.gov/www/regions/eur/bosnia/bosagree.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By early 2008, the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] had convicted forty-five Serbs, twelve Croats, and four Bosniaks of war crimes in connection with the war in Bosnia.<ref name="Convictions">{{Cite news |last=Bilefsky |first=Dan |date=2008-07-30 |title=Karadzic Sent to Hague for Trial Despite Violent Protest by Loyalists ~~|language=en-US~~ |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/europe/30serbia.html |access-date=2022-09-25 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=24 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624210754/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/europe/30serbia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Update inline|date=July 2015}} Estimates suggest over 100,000 people were killed during the war.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6228152.stm|title=Bosnia war dead figure announced|date=21 June 2007|access-date=16 February 2013|archive-date=9 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409155521/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6228152.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bosnia-s-dark-days-a-cameraman-reflects-on-war-of-1990s-1.1224463|title=Bosnia's dark days – a cameraman reflects on war of 1990s|date=6 April 2012|access-date=16 February 2013|archive-date=15 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615181216/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/05/f-bosnia-video-louis-deguise-camerman.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Logos|2019|p=265, 412}} Over 2.2 million people were displaced,<ref name=Jolie>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/4bbb422512.html|publisher=[[UNHCR]]|title=Jolie highlights the continuing suffering of the displaced in Bosnia|date=6 April 2010|access-date=19 October 2010|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129080939/http://www.unhcr.org/4bbb422512.html|url-status=live}}</ref> making it, at the time, the most violent conflict in Europe since the end of World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/a-z-guide/bosnia/|title=Bosnia|first=Florence|last=Hartmann|publisher=Crimes of War|access-date=30 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509083402/http://www.crimesofwar.org/a-z-guide/bosnia/|archive-date=9 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Power of Dependence: NATO-UN Cooperation in Crisis Management|first=Michael F.|last=Harsch|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2015|page=37|isbn=978-0-19-872231-1}}</ref> In addition, an estimated 12,000–50,000 [[Rape during the Bosnian War|women were raped]], mainly carried out by Serb forces, with most of the victims being Bosniak women.{{sfn|Burg|Shoup|2015|p=222}}<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Crowe|first1=David M.|title=War Crimes, Genocide, and Justice: A Global History|date=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-62224-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aynFAgAAQBAJ|page=343|access-date=14 May 2016|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234220/https://books.google.com/books?id=aynFAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

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Serbs consider the [[Sarajevo wedding shooting]], when a groom's father was killed on the 2nd day of the [[1992 Bosnian independence referendum|Bosnian independence referendum]], 1 March 1992, as the first death of the war.{{sfn|Donia|2006|p=291}} The [[Sijekovac killings]] of Serbs took place on 26 March and the [[Bijeljina massacre]] on 1–2 April. On 5 April, after protesters approached a barricade, a demonstrator was killed by Serb forces.{{sfn|Donia|2006|p=284}}

The war was brought to an end by the [[Dayton Agreement|General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina]], negotiated at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]] between 1- and 21 November 1995 and signed in Paris on 14 December.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_69290.htm|title=15 years ago, Dayton Peace Accords: a milestone for NATO and the Balkans|publisher=NATO|date=14 December 2010|access-date=18 July 2015|archive-date=17 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217163011/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_69290.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Background ==

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In March 1989, the crisis in Yugoslavia deepened after the adoption of amendments to the Serbian Constitution allowing the government of Serbia to dominate the provinces of [[Kosovo]] and [[Vojvodina]].<ref name="Bethlehem1997p20">{{harvnb|Bethlehem|Weller|1997|p=20}}</ref> Until then, Kosovo and Vojvodina's decision-making was independent, and each autonomous province had a vote at the Yugoslav federal level. Serbia, under newly elected President [[Slobodan Milošević]], gained control over three out of eight votes in the Yugoslav presidency. With additional votes from Montenegro, Serbia was thus able to heavily influence the decisions of the federal government. This situation led to objections from the other republics and calls for the reform of the Yugoslav federation.

At the 14th Extraordinary Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, on 20 January 1990, the delegations of the republics could not agree on the main issues facing the Yugoslav federation. As a result, the Slovene and Croatian delegates left the Congress. The Slovene delegation, headed by [[Milan Kučan]], demanded democratic changes and a looser federation, while the Serbian delegation, headed by Milošević, opposed it.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Death Of Yugoslavia Part 1 Enter Nationalism 5 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hqDqwLqFJg ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-10-16 |archive-date=16 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016222359/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hqDqwLqFJg |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[1990 Bosnian general election|first multi-party election]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in November 1990, votes were cast largely according to ethnicity, leading to the success of the Bosniak [[Party of Democratic Action]] (SDA), the [[Serb Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina)|Serb Democratic Party]] (SDS), and the [[Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croatian Democratic Union]] (HDZ BiH).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nationaldeconstr0000camp|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/nationaldeconstr0000camp/page/220 220]|title=National deconstruction: Violence, identity, and justice in Bosnia|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-2937-4|last1=Campbell|first1=David|year=1998}}</ref>

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On 19 September 1991, the JNA moved extra troops to the area around the city of [[Mostar]]. This was protested by the local government. On 20 September 1991, the JNA transferred troops to [[battle of Vukovar|the front at Vukovar]] via the [[Višegrad]] region of northeastern Bosnia. In response, local Croats and Bosniaks set up barricades and machine-gun posts. They halted a column of 60 JNA tanks, but were dispersed by force the following day. More than 1,000 people had to flee the area. This action, nearly seven months before the start of the Bosnian War, caused the first casualties of the Yugoslav Wars in Bosnia. In the first days of October, the JNA attacked and leveled the Croat village of [[Ravno, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Ravno]] in eastern Herzegovina, on their way to [[Siege of Dubrovnik|attack Dubrovnik]] in southern Croatia.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=416}}

On 6 October 1991, Bosnian president [[Alija Izetbegović]] gave a televised proclamation of neutrality, it included the statement "it is not our war".{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=25}} Izetbegović made a statement before the Bosnian parliament on 14 October with regard to the JNA: "Do not do anything against the Army. (...) the presence of the Army is a stabilizing factor to us, and we need that Army... Until now, we did not have problems with the Army, and we will not have problems later." Izetbegović had a testy exchange with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić in parliament on that day. After Karadžić wagered that the Bosnian ~~muslims~~Muslims could not defend themselves if a state of war developed, Izetbegović observed that he found Karadžić's manner and speech offensive and it explained why the Bosniaks felt unwelcome, that his tone might explain why the others federated by Yugoslavia felt repelled, and that the threats of Karadžić were unworthy of the Serbian people.<ref>Tape record of the BiH Parliament, 88/3. – 89/2. AG, 89/3. – 90/4.</ref>

Throughout 1990, the [[RAM Plan]] was developed by [[State Security Administration|SDB]] and a group of selected Serb officers of the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA) with the purpose of organizing Serbs outside Serbia, consolidating control of the fledgling [[Serb Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina)|SDS]] parties and the positioning of arms and ammunition.<ref name="Judah1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KxQaCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT273|title=The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia|first=Tim|last=Judah|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2008|isbn= 9780300147841|page=273}}</ref> The plan was meant to prepare the framework for a third Yugoslavia in which all Serbs with their territories would live together in the same state.{{sfn|Lukic|Lynch|1996|p=204}}

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The war attracted foreign fighters<ref>Cerwyn Moore & Paul Tumelty (2008) Foreign Fighters and the Case of Chechnya: A Critical Assessment, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 31:5, 412–433, DOI: 10.1080/10576100801993347

</ref><ref name="bos">{{Cite web|title=Bosnian Muslim Ex-Commander Jailed 10 Years Over War Crimes by Islamist Fighters|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-01-22/bosnian-muslim-ex-commander-jailed-10-years-over-war-crimes-by-islamist-fighters|access-date=16 November 2021|website=usnews~~|language=en~~|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116173048/https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-01-22/bosnian-muslim-ex-commander-jailed-10-years-over-war-crimes-by-islamist-fighters|url-status=live}}</ref> and mercenaries from various countries. Volunteers came to fight for a variety of reasons, including religious or ethnic loyalties and in some cases for money. As a general rule, Bosniaks received support from Islamic countries, Serbs from Eastern Orthodox countries, and Croats from Catholic countries. The presence of foreign fighters is well documented, however none of these groups comprised more than 5 percent of any of the respective armies' total manpower strength.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deyam |first=Abu |title=Foreign fighters in the Bosnian War |url=https://www.academia.edu/25982162 |website=Academia |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234221/https://www.academia.edu/25982162 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bosnian Serbs received support from Christian Slavic fighters from various countries in Eastern Europe,<ref name=thomas>{{cite book|title=The Yugoslav Wars: Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia 1992–2001|last1=Thomas|first1=Nigel|last2=Mikulan|first2=Krunoslav|last3=Pavlović|first3=Darko|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-19-517429-8|page=13}}</ref><ref name=niod>{{cite web|url=http://srebrenica.brightside.nl/srebrenica/toc/p6_c04_s001_b01.html|title=Srebrenica – a 'safe' area|date=10 April 2002|publisher=[[Dutch Institute for War Documentation]]|access-date=17 February 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> including volunteers from other [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox Christian]] countries. These included hundreds of Russians,{{sfn|Lukic|Lynch|1996|p=333}} around 100 Greeks,{{sfn|Koknar|2003}} and some Ukrainians and Romanians.{{sfn|Koknar|2003}} Some estimate as many as 1,000 such volunteers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/ruski-i-grcki-dobrovoljci-u-ratu-u-bih/25290398.html|quote=|title=Uloga pravoslavnih dobrovoljaca u ratu u BiH|newspaper=Radio Slobodna Evropa |date=12 April 2017 |access-date=12 July 2018|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802131404/https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/ruski-i-grcki-dobrovoljci-u-ratu-u-bih/25290398.html|url-status=live|last1=Halimović |first1=Dženana }}</ref> [[Greece|Greek]] volunteers of the [[Greek Volunteer Guard]] were reported to have taken part in the [[Srebrenica Massacre]], with the [[Greek flag]] being hoisted in Srebrenica when the town fell to the Serbs.<ref>Helena Smith, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/milosevic/story/0,,868869,00.html "Greece faces shame of role in Serb massacre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802130429/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/milosevic/story/0,,868869,00.html |date=2 August 2020 }}, ''[[The Observer]]'', 5 January 2003; retrieved 25 November 2006.</ref>

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Some individuals from other European countries volunteered to fight for the Croat side, including [[Neo-Nazism|Neo-Nazis]] such as [[Jackie Arklöv]], who was charged with war crimes upon his return to [[Sweden]]. Later he confessed he committed [[war crimes]] on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the [[Heliodrom camp|Heliodrom]] and [[Dretelj camp]]s as a member of Croatian forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/29027 |title=Šveđanin priznao krivnju za ratne zločine u BiH |last=Karli |first=Sina |date=11 November 2006 |work=[[Nacional (weekly)]] |access-date=17 February 2010 |trans-title=Swede confesses to war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina |language=hr |archive-date=18 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418224408/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/29027/svedanin-priznao-krivnju-za-ratne-zlocine-u-bih |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Bosnians received support from Muslim groups. Pakistan supported Bosnia while providing technical and military support.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/07/26/Pakistan-sends-more-troops-to-Bosnia/9114806731200/|title=Pakistan sends more troops to Bosnia|work=UPI|access-date=2017-05-06~~|language=en~~|archive-date=15 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615034450/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/07/26/Pakistan-sends-more-troops-to-Bosnia/9114806731200/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/31/Pakistan-says-it-will-stay-in-Bosnia/3592801892800/|title=Pakistan says it will stay in Bosnia|work=UPI|access-date=2017-05-06~~|language=en~~|archive-date=16 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316214519/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/31/Pakistan-says-it-will-stay-in-Bosnia/3592801892800/|url-status=live}}</ref> Pakistan's [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) allegedly ran an active [[Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina|military intelligence]] program during the Bosnian War which started in 1992 lasting until 1995. Executed and supervised by Pakistani [[Lieutenant-General|General]] [[Javed Nasir]], the program provided logistics and ammunition supplies to various groups of [[Bosnian mujahideen]] during the war. The ISI Bosnian contingent was organised with [[Saudi foreign assistance|financial assistance provided by Saudi Arabia]], according to the British historian [[Mark Curtis (British author)|Mark Curtis]].<ref name="Profile">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfFrZ2_KnnwC&pg=PA212|title=Secret Affairs Britain's Collusion with Radical Islam|last=Curtis|first=Mark|publisher=Profile|isbn=978-1847653017|edition=New updated|location=London|page=212|year=2010|access-date=16 May 2020|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234224/https://books.google.com/books?id=QfFrZ2_KnnwC&pg=PA212|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[The Washington Post]], Saudi Arabia provided $300 million in weapons to government forces in Bosnia with the knowledge and tacit cooperation of the United States, a claim denied by US officials.<ref>Molotsky, Irvin. ''[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/02/world/us-linked-to-saudi-aid-for-bosnians.html U.S. Linked To Saudi Aid For Bosnians ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413222017/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/02/world/us-linked-to-saudi-aid-for-bosnians.html |date=13 April 2020 }}''. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 2 February 1996</ref> Foreign Muslim fighters also joined the ranks of the Bosnian Muslims, including from the Lebanese guerrilla organisation [[Hezbollah]],<ref name="Fisk">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/after-the-atrocities-committed-against-muslims-in-bosnia-it-is-no-wonder-today-s-jihadis-have-set-9717384.html|title=After the atrocities committed against Muslims in Bosnia, it is no wonder today's jihadis have set out on the path to war in Syria|first=Robert|last=Fisk|work=The Independent|date=7 September 2014|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717080303/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/after-the-atrocities-committed-against-muslims-in-bosnia-it-is-no-wonder-today-s-jihadis-have-set-9717384.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the global organization [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="Atwan">{{Cite book|first=Abdel Bari|last=Atwan|year=2012|title=The Secret History of al Qaeda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDshBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT155|publisher=Saqi|page=155|isbn=9780863568435|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234221/https://books.google.com/books?id=EDshBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT155|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Frank|last=Clements|year=2003|title=Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA153|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=153|isbn=9781851094028|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234224/https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA153|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Steven|last=Woehrel|year=2007|chapter=Islamic Terrorism and the Balkans|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHFHe7Rf0JsC&pg=PA75|editor-first=Cofie D.|editor-last=Malbouisson|title=Focus on Islamic Issues|publisher=Nova Publishers|page=75|isbn=9781600212048|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234413/https://books.google.com/books?id=HHFHe7Rf0JsC&pg=PA75|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Michael|last=Freeman|year=2016|title=Financing Terrorism: Case Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvkFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|publisher=Routledge|page=186|isbn=9781317135074|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=23 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234341/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvkFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|url-status=live}}</ref>

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From May to December 1992, the [[Bosnian Ministry of the Interior]] (BiH MUP), HVO and later the [[Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian Territorial Defence Forces]] (TO RBiH) operated the [[Čelebići camp]]. It was used to detain Bosnian Serb [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]], many were elderly, arrested during operations intended to de-block routes to Sarajevo and [[Mostar]] in May 1992 which had earlier been blocked by Serb forces.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mojzes |first1=Paul |title=Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the Twentieth Century |date=2011 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442206632 |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwW2O7v7CUcC&pg=PA176}}</ref> Of the 700 prisoners, at least 13 died while in captivity.{{sfn|Nettelfield|2010a|p=174}} Detainees were subjected to torture, sexual assaults, beatings and other cruel and inhuman treatment. Certain prisoners were shot, or beaten to death.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/celebici/trialc2/judgement/index.htm |title=Delalic et al. – Judgement |access-date=2013-01-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016042438/http://www.un.org/icty/celebici/trialc2/judgement/index.htm |archive-date=16 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/p561-e.htm |title=Appeals Chamber to render its Judgement in the Celebici Case on 20 February 2001 |access-date=2013-01-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324044908/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/p561-e.htm |archive-date=24 March 2009}}</ref>

On 6 May 1992, Mate Boban met with Radovan Karadžić in [[Graz]], [[Austria]], where they reached [[Graz agreement|an agreement]] for a ceasefire and discussed a demarcation between a Croat and Serb territorial unit, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{sfn|Krišto|2011|pp=49–50}}<ref>{{Citation |title=Croat-Bosniak War (1993–94) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSQFf0oW7k ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-09-26 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926225047/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSQFf0oW7k |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the ceasefire was broken the following day, when the JNA and Bosnian Serb forces mounted an attack on Croat-held positions in Mostar.{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=156}} In June 1992, Bosnian Serb forces attacked and pounded the Bosnian village of Žepa, which would lead to the 3-year long [[siege of Žepa]].

By June 1992, refugees and internally displaced persons had reached 2.6 million.<ref>{{cite journal|page=782|title=UNHCR and ICRC in the former Yugoslavia: Bosnia-Herzegovina|first=Kirsten|last=Young|journal=[[International Review of the Red Cross]]|date=September 2001|volume=83|number=843|url=https://www.icrc.org/ara/assets/files/other/781_806_young.pdf|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-date=17 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217162902/https://www.icrc.org/ar/doc/assets/files/other/781_806_young.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> By September 1992, Croatia had accepted 335,985 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly Bosniak civilians (excluding men of military age).{{sfn|Meznaric|Zlatkovic Winter|1993|pp=3–4}} The number of refugees significantly strained the Croatian economy and infrastructure.<ref name="Guardian-BosnianRefugees-1992">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jun/09/warcrimes|title=Croatian coast straining under 200,000 refugees: Yigan Chazan in Split finds room running out for the many escaping from war in Bosnia|author=Yigan Chazan|date=9 June 1992|access-date=31 December 2014|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406110957/https://www.theguardian.com/world/1992/jun/09/warcrimes|url-status=live}}</ref> Then-U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, [[Peter Galbraith]], put the number of refugees in Croatia into a proper perspective in an interview on 8 November 1993. He said the situation would be the equivalent of the US taking in 30,000,000 refugees.<ref>{{cite book|last=Blaskovich|first=Jerry|url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofdeceita00blas|url-access=registration|title=Anatomy of Deceit: An American Physician's First-Hand Encounter with the Realities of the War in Croatia|year=1997|location=New York City|publisher=Dunhill Publishing| isbn=978-0-935016-24-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/anatomyofdeceita00blas/page/103 103]}}</ref> The number of Bosnian refugees in Croatia, was surpassed only by the number of the internally displaced persons within Bosnia and Herzegovina itself, at 588,000.{{sfn|Meznaric|Zlatkovic Winter|1993|pp=3–4}} Serbia took in 252,130 refugees from Bosnia, while other former Yugoslav republics received a total of 148,657 people.{{sfn|Meznaric|Zlatkovic Winter|1993|pp=3–4}}

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On 7 January 1993, Orthodox [[Christmas Day]], 8th Operational Unit Srebrenica, a unit of the ARBiH under the command of [[Naser Orić]], [[Kravica attack (1993)|attacked the village of Kravica]] near [[Bratunac]]. 46 Serbs died in the attack: 35 soldiers and 11 civilians.<ref name="Bratunac: Parastos ubijenim Srbima">{{cite web|publisher=B92|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2013&mm=01&dd=06&nav_category=64&nav_id=675116|title=Bratunac: Parastos ubijenim Srbima|date=6 January 2013|access-date=23 March 2013|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406113933/https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2013&mm=01&dd=06&nav_category=64&nav_id=675116|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hrw-oric">Ivanisevic, Bogdan. [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/12/serbia13761.htm "Orić's Two Years"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081111231519/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/07/12/serbia13761.htm |date=11 November 2008 }}, ''Human Rights Watch''. Retrieved 31 July 2008.</ref><ref name="Myth of Bratunac">{{cite web|url=http://www.idc.org.ba/project/the_myth_of_bratunac.html |title=The Myth of Bratunac: A Blatant Numbers Game |access-date=22 December 2010 |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508095038/http://www.idc.org.ba/project/the_myth_of_bratunac.html |archive-date=8 May 2009 |publisher=Research and Documentation Center}}</ref> 119 Serb civilians and 424 Serb soldiers died in [[Bratunac]] during the war.<ref name="Myth of Bratunac"/> Republika Srpska claimed that the ARBiH forces torched Serb homes and massacred civilians. However, this could not be verified during the ICTY trials, which concluded that many homes were already destroyed and that the [[siege of Srebrenica]] caused hunger, forcing Bosniaks to attack nearby Serb villages to acquire food to survive. In 2006, Orić was found guilty by the ICTY on the charges of not preventing murder of Serbs, but was acquitted of all charges on appeal.<ref>{{cite news| publisher=UN News Centre| url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27263| title=Former commander of Bosnian Muslim forces acquitted by UN tribunal| date=3 July 2008| access-date=25 August 2017| archive-date=19 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019033002/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27263| url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 January 1993, Serb forces killed the deputy prime minister of the RBiH [[Hakija Turajlić]] after stopping the UN convoy transporting him from the airport.<ref name="lebor35">{{cite book|title=Complicity With Evil|first=Adam|last=LeBor|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-300-11171-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fySibOaurVsC&pg=PA35}}</ref> On 16 January 1993, soldiers of the ARBiH [[Skelani massacre|attacked the Bosnian Serb village of Skelani]], near [[Srebrenica]].<ref name="auto">http://www.novosti.rs {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225033100/http://www.novosti.rs/ |date=25 February 2011 }}: [http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/planeta.300.html:362216-Skelani-Zlocin-jos-bez-kazne Skelani Zlocin jos bez kazne] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415131947/https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/planeta.300.html:362216-Skelani-Zlocin-jos-bez-kazne |date=15 April 2022 }}</ref><ref name="auto1">http://www.srebrenica-project.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527224907/http://www.srebrenica-project.com/ |date=27 May 2011 }}: [http://www.srebrenica-project.com/ Историјски пројекат Сребреница]</ref> 69 people were killed, 185 were wounded.<ref name="auto~~"/><ref name="auto1~~"/> Among the victims were 6 children.<ref name="novosti.rs">{{Cite web|url=https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/reportaze/aktuelno.293.html:553963-Ni-da-prebolimo-ni-da-oprostimo|title=Ni da prebolimo ni da oprostimo|website=NOVOSTI|access-date=16 January 2023|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406114017/https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/reportaze/aktuelno.293.html:553963-Ni-da-prebolimo-ni-da-oprostimo|url-status=live}}</ref~~><ref name="auto1"/~~>

[[Peace plans offered before and during the Bosnian War|~~peace~~Peace plans]] were proposed by the UN, US and European Community (EC), but they had little impact on the war. These included the [[Peace plans offered before and during the Bosnian War#Vance-Owen plan|Vance-Owen Peace Plan]], revealed in January 1993.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=13}} The plan was presented by UN Special Envoy [[Cyrus Vance]] and EC representative [[David Owen]]. It envisioned Bosnia and Herzegovina as a decentralised state with ten autonomous provinces.{{sfn|Tanner|2001|p=288}}

On 22 February 1993, the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 808|Resolution 808]] "that an international tribunal shall be established for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law".{{sfn|Bethlehem|Weller|1997|p=42}} On 15–16 May, the Vance-Owen peace plan was [[1993 Republika Srpska Vance-Owen Peace Plan referendum|rejected in a referendum]].{{sfn|Burg|Shoup|2015|p=249}}<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-16-mn-36201-story.html Serbian Voters Express Contempt for Peace Plan : Bosnia: In two-day referendum, they are expected to defy outside pressure and continue the deadly struggle] Los Angeles Times, 16 May 1993</ref> The peace plan was viewed by some as one of the factors leading to the escalation of the Croat–Bosniak conflict in central Bosnia.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=4}}

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In the Busovača municipality, the ARBiH gained some ground and inflicted heavy casualties on the HVO, but the HVO held the town of Busovača and the Kaonik intersection between Busovača and Vitez.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=110}} The ARBiH failed to cut the HVO held Kiseljak enclave into smaller parts and isolate the town of Fojnica from Kiseljak.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=115}} Many Bosniak civilians were detained or forced to leave Kiseljak.{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=193}}

In the Vitez area, Blaškić used his limited forces to carry out spoiling attacks on the ARBiH, thus preventing the ARBiH from cutting of the Travnik–Busovača road and seizing the SPS explosives factory in Vitez.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|pp=91–92}} On 16 April, the HVO launched a spoiling attack on Ahmići, east of Vitez. After the attacking units breached the ARBiH lines and entered the village, groups of irregular HVO units went from house to house, burning them and killing civilians. When Croat forces arrived in Ahmići, they left all Croats alone,<ref name=":1">{{Citation |title=Ahmici Can There Ever Be Reconciliation? {{!}} Global 3000 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzeM-UL3fD0 ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-09-25 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925212609/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzeM-UL3fD0 |url-status=live }}</ref> and massacred the Muslims who could not flee in time.<ref name=":1" /> The [[Ahmići massacre]] resulted in more than 100 killed Bosniak civilians.<ref name=":1" />{{sfn|Shrader|2003|pp=93–94}}{{sfn|Blaškić Appeals Chamber Judgement|2004|pp=8–9}} The massacre was discovered by UN peacekeeping troops of the 1st Battalion, [[Cheshire Regiment]],<ref>{{cite book |author1=Stephen Badsey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kxfg1HiHdqIC&pg=PA35 |title=Britain, NATO, and the lessons of the Balkan conflicts, 1991–1999 |author2=Paul Chester Latawski |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0714651907 |page=35}}</ref> drawn from the [[British Army]], under the command of Colonel [[Bob Stewart (British Army officer)|Bob Stewart]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Colin McInnes, Nicholas J. Wheeler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMlk44vZX6sC&pg=PA114 |title=Dimensions of Western military intervention |year=2002 | publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780714682488 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234416/https://books.google.com/books?id=MMlk44vZX6sC&pg=PA114 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Welsh |first=Paul |date=14 August 1999 |title=Return to the land he never really left |work=The Independent |location=London, UK |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/return-to-the-land-he-never-really-left-1112610.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104012420/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/return-to-the-land-he-never-really-left-1112610.html |archive-date=2012-11-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Charles R. Shrader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC&pg=PA92 |title=The Muslim-Croat civil war in Central Bosnia: a military history, 1992–1994 |date=12 June 2003 | publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=9781585442614 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234223/https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC&pg=PA92 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bosnian Government made a monument dedicated to all 116 victims.<ref name=":1" /> Elsewhere in the area, the HVO blocked the ARBiH forces in the Stari Vitez quarter of Vitez and prevented an ARBiH advance south of the town.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=100}}<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=26 January 2020 |title=Religion in Croatia |url=https://electroteknica.com/2020/01/26/religion-in-croatia/?adlt=strict&toWww=1&redig=BF851D945AF042DFB8CFC539F588DFCA |website=electroteknica |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929031818/https://electroteknica.com/2020/01/26/religion-in-croatia/?adlt=strict&toWww=1&redig=BF851D945AF042DFB8CFC539F588DFCA |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 24 April, mujahideen forces attacked the [[Miletići]] northeast of Travnik and killed four Croat civilians.<ref name=":3" /> The rest of the captured civilians were taken to the Poljanice camp.{{sfn|Hadžihasanović & Kubura Trial Chamber Judgement|2006|p=5}}<ref name=":3" /> However, the conflict did not spread to Travnik and Novi Travnik, though the HVO and the ARBiH brought in reinforcements from this area.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|pp=119–120}} On 25 April, Izetbegović and Boban signed a ceasefire.{{sfn|Bethlehem|Weller|1997|p=618}} ARBiH Chief of Staff, [[Sefer Halilović]], and HVO Chief of Staff, [[Milivoj Petković]], met on a weekly basis to solve issues and implement the ceasefire.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=125}} However, the truce was not respected on the ground and the HVO and ARBiH forces were still engaged in the Busovača area until 30 April.{{sfn|Shrader|2003|p=110}}

==== Herzegovina ====

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{{Main|Operation Tiger (1994)|Operation Spider|Operation Winter '94}}

The forced deportations of Bosniaks from Serb-held territories and the resulting refugee crisis continued to escalate. Thousands of people were being bused out of Bosnia each month, threatened on religious grounds. As a result, Croatia was strained by 500,000 refugees, and in mid-1994 the Croatian authorities forbade entry to a group of 462 refugees fleeing northern Bosnia, forcing UNPROFOR to improvise shelter for them.<ref>{{cite news|url=~~http~~https://~~articles~~www.baltimoresun.com/1994-/06-/21/~~news/1994172015_1_croatia~~croatia-~~bosnian~~slams-~~serbs~~the-door-on-brutalized-refugees/|title=Croatia slams the door on brutalized refugees|date=21 June 1994|first=Samantha|last=Power|author-link=Samantha Power|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=31 December 2014|archive-date=7 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107031722/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-06-21/news/1994172015_1_croatia-bosnian-serbs-refugees|url-status=live}}</ref> Between 30 March and 23 April 1994, the Serbs launched another major offensive against the town with the primary objective of overrunning Goražde. On 9 April 1994, the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary General of the UN]], citing [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 836|Security Resolution 836]], threatened airstrikes on the Serbian forces which were attacking the Goražde enclave. For the next two days, [[NATO]] planes carried out air strikes against Serb tanks and outposts.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=Serbian Gorazde Offensive (1994) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxDcNTanFTc ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-09-25 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925212608/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxDcNTanFTc&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> However, these attacks did little to stop the overwhelming Bosnian Serb Army.<ref name=":0" /> The Bosnian Serb Army surrounded 150 UNPROFOR soldiers taking them hostage in Goražde.<ref name=":0" /> Knowing Goražde would fall unless there was foreign intervention, NATO issued the Serbs an ultimatum, which they were forced to comply with. Under the conditions of the ultimatum, the Serbs had to withdraw all militias to 3 km from the town by 23 April 1994, and all of their artillery and armored vehicles {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=on}} from the town by 26 April 1994. The VRS complied.<ref name="J.Regan1996">{{cite book |author=Richard J. Regan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHL_Zse8Y7EC&pg=PA203 |title=Just War: Principles and Cases |publisher=CUA Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8132-0856-5 |page=203 |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234223/https://books.google.com/books?id=rHL_Zse8Y7EC&pg=PA203 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Markale massacre ====

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The HV-HVO secured over {{convert|2500|km2|abbr=off}} of territory during [[Operation Mistral 2]], including the towns of [[Jajce]], [[Šipovo]] and [[Drvar]]. At the same time, the ARBiH engaged the VRS further to the north in [[Operation Sana]] and captured several towns, including Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Petrovac, Ključ and Sanski Most.{{sfn|CIA|2002|pp=380–381}} A VRS counteroffensive against the ARBiH in western Bosnia was launched on 23/24 September. Within two weeks the VRS was in the vicinity of the town of Ključ. The ARBiH requested Croatian assistance and on 8 October the HV-HVO launched [[Operation Southern Move]] under the overall command of HV Major General [[Ante Gotovina]]. The VRS lost the town of [[Mrkonjić Grad]], while HVO units came within {{convert|25|km|abbr=off}} south of Banja Luka.{{sfn|CIA|2002|pp=390–391}}

On 28 August, a VRS mortar attack on the Sarajevo ''Markale'' marketplace killed 43 people.{{sfn|Mladić Trial Chamber Judgement|2017|p=2315}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=RTS|url=http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/135/Hronika/1252690/Svedok%3A+Markale+nisu+inscenirane.html|title=Svedok: Markale nisu inscenirane|date=23 January 2013|access-date=24 January 2013|archive-date=31 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131062928/http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/135/Hronika/1252690/Svedok:+Markale+nisu+inscenirane.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the second [[Markale massacres#Second massacre|Markale massacre]], on 30 August, the [[Secretary General of NATO]] announced the start of [[Operation Deliberate Force]], widespread airstrikes against Bosnian Serb positions supported by UNPROFOR rapid reaction force artillery attacks.<ref name="changing69">{{cite book|title=The changing rules on the use of force in international law|first=Tarcisio|last=Gazzini|year=2005|page=69|publisher=[[Manchester University]] Press|isbn=978-0-7190-7325-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDimGeTLOLkC&pg=PA69}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Srebrenica massacre: A defining moment |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nigjJ4SVI ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-09-25 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925212607/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nigjJ4SVI |url-status=live }}</ref> On 14 September 1995, the NATO air strikes were suspended to allow the implementation of an agreement with Bosnian Serbs for the withdrawal of heavy weapons from around Sarajevo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 November 2001 |title=September 1995 |url=https://www.nato.int/docu/update/1995/9509e.htm |archive-date=6 November 2022 |website=[[NATO]] |access-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106160027/https://www.nato.int/docu/update/1995/9509e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Death Of Yugoslavia 6 of 6 Pax Americana BBC Documentary |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdVrQRYrv78 ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-09-25 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925212605/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdVrQRYrv78 |url-status=live }}</ref> Twelve days later, on 26 September, an agreement of further basic principles for a peace accord was reached in [[New York City]] between the foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the FRY.<ref name="yearbook2003p803">{{cite book|title=The Europa World Year Book 2003|year=2003|page=803|isbn=978-1-85743-227-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XLvU9lroRuUC&pg=PA803|last1=Group|first1=Taylor Francis|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> A 60-day ceasefire came into effect on 12 October, and on 1 November peace talks began in [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref name="yearbook2003p803" /> The war ended with the [[Dayton Agreement|Dayton Peace Agreement]] signed on 21 November 1995; the final version of the peace agreement was signed 14 December 1995 in [[Paris]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Says |first=P. Morra |date=2015-12-14 |title=A flawed recipe for how to end a war and build a state: 20 years since the Dayton Agreement |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2015/12/14/a-flawed-recipe-for-how-to-end-a-war-and-build-a-state-20-years-since-the-dayton-agreement/ |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=EUROPP |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824220725/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2015/12/14/a-flawed-recipe-for-how-to-end-a-war-and-build-a-state-20-years-since-the-dayton-agreement/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the Dayton Agreement, a NATO-led Implementation Force ([[IFOR]]) was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina. This 80,000 strong unit, was deployed in order to enforce the peace, as well as other tasks such as providing support for humanitarian and political aid, reconstruction, providing support for displaced civilians to return to their homes, collection of arms, and mine and [[unexploded ordnance]] clearing of the affected areas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/96-723/2|title=Bosnia Implementation Force (IFOR) and Stabilization Force (SFOR): Activities of the 104th Congress|access-date=24 August 2022|archive-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006174841/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/96-723/2|url-status=live}}</ref>

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== War crimes ==

According to a report compiled by the UN, and chaired by [[M. Cherif Bassiouni]], while all sides committed war crimes during the conflict, Serbian forces were responsible for ninety percent of them, whereas Croatian forces were responsible for six percent, and Bosniak forces four percent.<ref name="Waller|2002">{{cite book|last1=Waller|first1=James E.|title=Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing|url=https://archive.org/details/becomingevilhowo0000wall|url-access=registration|date=2002|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-514868-8|pages=262}}</ref> The report echoed conclusions published by a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] estimate in 1995.<ref name="Kennedy|2002">{{cite book|last1=Kennedy|first1=Michael D.|title=Cultural Formations of Postcommunism: Emancipation, Transition, Nation and War|date=2002|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-3857-4|page=252}}</ref><ref name="Cohen">[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/09/world/cia-report-on-bosnia-blames-serbs-for-90-of-the-war-crimes.html "C.I.A. Report on Bosnia Blames Serbs for 90% of the War Crimes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101000655/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/09/world/cia-report-on-bosnia-blames-serbs-for-90-of-the-war-crimes.html |date=1 November 2021 }} by [[Roger Cohen]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 9 March 1995.</ref> In October 2019, a third of the war crime charges filed by the Bosnian state prosecution during the year were transferred to lower-level courts, which sparked criticism of prosecutors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/10/10/bosnian-prosecution-criticised-over-war-crimes-indictments/|title=Bosnian Prosecution Criticised over War Crimes Indictments|date=2019-10-10|website=Balkan Insight~~|language=en-US~~|access-date=2019-10-10|archive-date=12 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012235738/https://balkaninsight.com/2019/10/10/bosnian-prosecution-criticised-over-war-crimes-indictments/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ethnic cleansing ===

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[[File:Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1998).svg|thumb|upright=.7|The shield used as a symbol for the [[Bosniaks]]]]

A trial took place before the [[International Court of Justice]], following a [[Bosnian Genocide Case|1993 suit]] by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro alleging [[genocide]]. The ICJ ruling of 26 February 2007 indirectly determined the war's nature to be international, though clearing Serbia of direct responsibility for the genocide committed by the forces of [[History of Republika Srpska#1991–1995|Republika Srpska]]. The ICJ concluded, however, that Serbia failed to prevent genocide committed by Serb forces and failed to punish those responsible, and bring them to justice.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-02-27 |title=Serbia cleared of genocide ~~|language=en~~ |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-bosnia-serbia-court-idUKL2525037520070227 |access-date=2022-08-24 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824220724/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-bosnia-serbia-court-idUKL2525037520070227 |url-status=live }}</ref> A telegram sent to the White House on 8 February 1994 and penned by U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, [[Peter W. Galbraith]], stated that genocide was occurring. The telegram cited "constant and indiscriminate shelling and gunfire" of Sarajevo by Karadzic's Yugoslav People Army; the harassment of minority groups in Northern Bosnia "in an attempt to force them to leave"; and the use of detainees "to do dangerous work on the front lines" as evidence that genocide was being committed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/IMG/20091106-friday.pdf|title=Galbraith telegram|author=Peter W. Galbraith|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=13 February 2010|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225030658/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//IMG/20091106-friday.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2005, the [[United States Congress]] passed a resolution declaring that "the Serbian policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing meet the terms defining genocide".<ref name="thomas.loc.gov">[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.res.00134: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the massacre at Srebrenica in July 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107031723/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.res.00134: |date=7 January 2016 }}, thomas.loc.gov; accessed 25 April 2015.</ref>

Despite the evidence of many kinds of war crimes conducted simultaneously by different Serb forces in different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in [[Bijeljina massacre|Bijeljina]], [[Siege of Sarajevo|Sarajevo]], [[Prijedor massacre|Prijedor]], [[Zvornik massacre|Zvornik]], [[Banja Luka#Bosnian War|Banja Luka]], [[Višegrad massacres|Višegrad]] and [[Foča massacre|Foča]], the judges ruled that the criteria for genocide with the specific intent (''[[dolus specialis]]'') to destroy Bosnian Muslims were met [[Srebrenica Genocide|only in Srebrenica]] or Eastern Bosnia in 1995.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ventura |first=Manuel |date=2009-01-01 |title=Prosecutor v. Karadzic (ICTY, Case No IT-95-5/18): the indictment, English language and Holbrooke Agreement decisions |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=13255029&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA240808433&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Australian International Law Journal ~~|language=English~~ |volume=16 |pages=241–258 |access-date=15 December 2022 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123234231/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=13255029&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA240808433&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs&userGroupName=nm_p_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true |url-status=live }}</ref>

The court concluded the crimes committed during the 1992–1995 war, may amount to [[crimes against humanity]] according to the international law, but that these acts did not, in themselves, constitute genocide per se.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=9273&kat=3 |title=Sense Tribunal: SERBIA FOUND GUILTY OF FAILURE TO PREVENT AND PUNISH GENOCIDE |access-date=25 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730091312/http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=9273&kat=3 |archive-date=30 July 2009 }}</ref> The Court further decided that, following Montenegro's declaration of independence in May 2006, Serbia was the only respondent party in the case, but that "any responsibility for ''past'' events involved at the relevant time the composite State of Serbia and Montenegro".<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/SPEECHES/ispeech_president_higgins_bhy_20070226.htm Statement of the President of the Court] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, icj-cij.org; accessed 25 April 2015.</ref>

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According to legal experts, as of early 2008, 45 Serbs, 12 Croats and 4 Bosniaks were convicted of war crimes by the ICTY in connection with the Balkan wars of the 1990s.<ref name=Convictions /> Both Serbs and Croats were indicted and convicted of systematic war crimes ([[joint criminal enterprise]]), while Bosniaks were indicted and convicted of individual ones. Most of the Bosnian Serb wartime leadership – [[Biljana Plavšić]],<ref name=ictykrajisnik>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/plavsic/tjug/en/pla-tj030227e.pdf|title=Prosecutor v. Biljana Plavsic judgement|quote=Biljana Plavsic was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment.|access-date=25 June 2011|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901055259/https://www.icty.org/x/cases/plavsic/tjug/en/pla-tj030227e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Momčilo Krajišnik]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/krajisnik/acjug/en/090317.pdf|title=Prosecutor v. Momcilo Krajisnik judgement|quote=Sentenced to 27 years' imprisonment|access-date=25 June 2011|archive-date=15 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415105233/https://www.icty.org/x/cases/krajisnik/acjug/en/090317.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Radoslav Brđanin]],<ref name="ICTY: Radoslav Brđanin judgement" /> and [[Duško Tadić]]<ref name="ICTY: Dusko Tadic">{{cite web|title=Prosecutor v. Duško Tadić – Judgement|publisher=[[United Nations]] [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|date=14 July 1997|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/tadic/tjug/en/tad-sj970714e.pdf|access-date=3 November 2009|archive-date=6 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606111117/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/tadic/tjug/en/tad-sj970714e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> – were indicted and judged guilty for [[war crimes]] and ethnic cleansing.

The former president of Republika Srpska [[Radovan Karadžić]] was [[Trial of Radovan Karadžić|held on trial]]<ref name=ICTYkaradzic2009>{{cite web|title=Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić – Second Amended Indictment|publisher=[[United Nations]] [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|date=26 February 2009|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic/ind/en/090218.pdf|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-date=6 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606114240/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic/ind/en/090218.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and was sentenced to [[life in prison]] for crimes, including [[crimes against humanity]] and [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bosnia-Herzegovina: Karadžić life sentence sends powerful message to the world|publisher=Amnesty International|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/bosnia-herzegovina-karadzic-life-sentence-sends-powerful-message-to-the-world/|date=20 March 2019|access-date=10 April 2019|archive-date=14 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414091703/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/03/bosnia-herzegovina-karadzic-life-sentence-sends-powerful-message-to-the-world/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ratko Mladić]] was also [[Trial of Ratko Mladić|tried by the ICTY]], charged with crimes in connection with the [[siege of Sarajevo]] and the [[Srebrenica massacre]].<ref name=ICTYmladic2002>{{cite web|title=Prosecutor v. Ratko Mladic – Amended Indictment|publisher=[[United Nations]] [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|date=8 November 2002|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/mladic/ind/en/mla-ai021010e.pdf|access-date=18 August 2009|archive-date=14 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114115323/https://www.icty.org/x/cases/mladic/ind/en/mla-ai021010e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Mladić was found guilty and also sentenced to life imprisonment by The Hague in November 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/22/ratko-mladic-convicted-of-genocide-and-war-crimes-at-un-tribunal|title=Ratko Mladić convicted of genocide and war crimes at UN tribunal|last1=Bowcott|first1=Owen|date=2017-11-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-11-22|last2=Borger|first2=Julian~~|language=en-GB~~|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726083832/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/22/ratko-mladic-convicted-of-genocide-and-war-crimes-at-un-tribunal|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Paramilitary]] leader [[Vojislav Šešelj]] was on trial from 2007 to 2018,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/serbia-conviction-of-war-criminal-delivers-long-overdue-justice-to-victims|title=Serbia: Conviction of war criminal delivers long overdue justice to victims|date=11 April 2018|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=11 April 2018|archive-date=12 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412082203/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/serbia-conviction-of-war-criminal-delivers-long-overdue-justice-to-victims/|url-status=live}}</ref> accused of being a part of a [[joint criminal enterprise]] to ethnically cleanse large areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina of non-Serbs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17289960|work=BBC News|title=Prosecutor seeks 28-year jail term for Vojislav Šešelj|date=7 March 2012|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008131408/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17289960|url-status=live}}</ref> The Serbian president [[Slobodan Milošević]] was charged with war crimes in connection with the war in Bosnia, including grave breaches of the [[Geneva Convention]]s, [[crimes against humanity]] and [[genocide]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1672414.stm |work=BBC News |title=Milosevic charged with Bosnia genocide |date=23 November 2001 |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721044424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1672414.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> but died in 2006 before the trial could finish.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4796470.stm |work=BBC News |title=Milosevic found dead in his cell |date=11 March 2006 |access-date=14 November 2010 |archive-date=25 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125201531/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4796470.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

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* "Bosnia" by [[the Cranberries]].

* "Sarajevo" by [[UHF (Portuguese band)|UHF]].

* "Sarajevo" by Greek rock band [[:el:~~Magic_De_Spell~~Magic De Spell|Magic De Spell]]

* "[[Sva bol svijeta]]" by [[Fazla]].

* "Nad trupem Jugosławii" by Polish punk rock band [[KSU (band)|KSU]].

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=== Video games ===

The 2014 video game ''[[This War of Mine]]'' was inspired by the poor living conditions and wartime atrocities that Bosnian civilians endured during the Siege of Sarajevo where the player controls a group of civilian survivors in a makeshift-damaged house.<ref>{{Citation |title=This War of Mine Launch Trailer – The Survivor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gotK5DLdVvI ~~|language=en~~ |access-date=2022-03-07 |archive-date=28 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228060015/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gotK5DLdVvI |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-06 |title=A Review of "This War of Mine" by a Survivor of the Siege of Sarajevo |url=https://www.solidaritypolicy.org/this-war-of-mine/ |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Solidarity Policy Center ~~|language=en~~ |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307134059/https://www.solidaritypolicy.org/this-war-of-mine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==