Major Causes of the War
Essentially, the Bosnian war was fought because Serbs and Croats living in Bosnia wanted to annex Bosnian territory for Serbia and Croatia respectively. There were several mitigating factors in addition to ethnic tensions. The Nationalist leader of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, was pushing for what he called a "Greater Serbia". The Bosnian Croats and Muslims, fearing that Milosevic would try to take their land if they were still under Yugoslavian control, called for Bosnian independence.
Just before the war began, Radovan Karadzic created a renegade army within Bosnia with the support of Milosevic in Belgrade. In 1992, under Karadzic's leadership, Bosnian Serbs began a policy of "cleansing" large areas of Bosnia of non-Serbs. After the war, a tribunal declared that the "cleansing" was actaully genocide, and convicted Karadzic and his military commander of war crimes.
On April 6, 1992, the Bosnian Serbs began their siege of Sarajevo. Muslim, Croat, and Serb residents opposed to a Greater Serbia were cut off from food, utilities, and communication. For three years, food was scarce and the average weight loss per person was more than 30 pounds. More than 12,000 residents of Sarajevo were killed during the 43 months of siege. Throughout Bosnia, Bosnian Serb nationalists and the JNA began a program of ethnic cleansing in order to create a "pure" Serbian territory.. Entire villages were destroyed and thousands of Bosnians were driven from their homes, held in detention camps, , tortured, deported, or killed. An international arms embargo was in effect throughout the war, preventing the Bosnian government from obtaining the heavy artillery and arms that it needed to fight the more sophisticated arsenals of the Serbian and Croatian armies.
(Above: Ethnica Majorities in Bosnia by area. Yellow: Croat; Green: Muslim; Red: Serb; Taupe: No Majority present)
History of Bosnia
Inhabited by tribes since the 7th century, different areas of today's Bosnia were part of different Croatian, Serbian, and independent Bosnian states. The first Bosnian state was established under the ban Kulin in the 12th century. It was at its strongest under the king Tvrtko in the latter half of the 14th century. From then on, the Bosnian kingdom included most of the territory of today's Bosnia and of what would later become known as Herzegovina.
After losing its independence to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Bosnia (including Herzegovina) was a state within the empire for four hundred years. The area acquired the name of "Bosnia and Herzegovina" in 1853. There are no borders between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the name "Bosnia" generally refers to both regions (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
(Left: A Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
More Recent History of Bosnia
After the First World War Bosnia became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the Second World War, Bosnia became a part of the Independent State of Croatia, but large areas of Bosnia were controlled by rebel resistant forces. After the war, Bosnia became a constituent federal republic of Yugoslavia, who was then a socialist state. Yugoslavia was united by Josip Broz, leader of the Communist Partisans. Broz (commonly referred to as Tito) and his party fought against Croatian fascists (who, during and after WWII, persecuted and killed the Jews, Gypsies, Serbs, and Communists) and the Serb Chetniks, who were also responsible for many of the mass killings in that region. Tito understood the need for unity among Yugoslavia's major ethnic groups, and so under his rule, open animosity towards any group was strictly prohibited.
Josip Broz died early into the 1980's and Yugoslavia slid into a political decline that fostered Serb and Croat extremists. As this was happening, Slobodan Milosevic became the unchallenged ruler of Serbia. Milosevic became the most popular political figure in Yugoslavia by promoting Serbian nationalism. Milosevic changed the Serbian constitution and voided the independence of Kosovo as his first few acts as the Serbian leader. Because of Milosevic's nationalist ideals and rough handling of Kosovo, many territories of Yugoslavia, including Bosnia, sought independence.
During the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence. Many Serbs living in Bosnia opposed this and proclaimed their own Republika Srpska on the territories they controlled. Today, Serbs are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia, and make up a large part of the population.
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Chronology and Major Events
The Bosnian War was a result of multiethnic strife within Bosnia. Bosnia has been traditionally multicultural and has created territories within its borders to accomodate Serbs and Croats that do not consider themselves part of mainstream Bosnian culture. Because of this, there has been much debate as to whether the Bosnian War was a civil war or a war of aggression. Many Bosniaks and Croats believe that the conflict was a war of Serbian and Croatian aggression, while most Serbs believe it was a civil war. Bosniaks are predominately Muslim, while Serbs are Eastern Orthodox, and Croats are mostly Roman Catholic. At the time the war started in March of 1992, Bosniaks consisted of only 43% of Bosnia, while Serbs accounted of 31% of the population and Croats 17%.
(Left: The parliament building burning after airstrikes in Sarajevo)
Timeline Of the Bosnian War
1992
§ Febrary 29th- Bosnia and Herzegovina declare independence
§ April- Bosnian Serbs begin their siege on Sarajevo
1993
§ January- Bosnian deputy Prime Minister killed by Serbian forces while en route to the airport.
§ Bosnian Mulsims and Croats begin fighting ovver the parts of Bosnia not already taken by Serbs. This amounts to about 30% of the original territory.
§ The UN declares six safe zones for muslims : Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bihac, Srebrenica, Zepa and Gorazde.
1994
§ February 6th- A mortar explodes in a crowded market in Sarajevo, 68 people are killed.
§ February 28thNATO shoots down four Serbian aircraft over Bosnia, intervening for the first time since the war began (in fact, the first use of military power by NATO since it's creation in 1949)
§ March 18th- Bosnian Muslims and Croats sign peace accords drawn up by the United States
1995
§ January 1st- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter brokers peace agreement between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims. Truce holds well for about four months.
§ May 24th- Serb forces refuse to remove heavy weapons from Sarajevo and as a result NATO launches an aircraft attack on Serb ammunition depot. In retaliation, Serbs begin attacking the Muslim safe zones designated by the UN.
§ July 11- Serbs sieze Srebrenica , an estimated 8,000 Srebrenican men and boys are killed.
§ July- Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic indicted for war crimes.
§ July 25th- Serbs sieze Zepa
§ August 30th- NATO airstrike begins against Serbs in and around Sarajevo
§ November 1st- Peace talks begin in Dayton, Ohio
§ November 21st- Leaders of Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia agree to a settlement
§ November 27th- President Clinton asks for support in sending 20,000 American troops to Bosnia
§ December 3- President Clinton gives the official order to deploy American troops to Bosnia
§ December 14th-The Dayton Accordsare signed by the Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs. 60,000 NATO troops are now allowed into the territories for peacekeeping purposes only.
§ December 20th- NATO takes over peace-keeping duties from UN
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