Breaking up Yugoslavia
Bosnia:
In Bosnia, the three main nationalities (Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians) lived peacefully and in harmony among one another. The population was split with the majority being Muslims 44%, the Serbs with 32%, and the Croats with 17%. (Borgen Project) However, after the European Community conducted a referendum on the Bosnian independence, ethnic lines were drawn with what would become a bloody line. The Croats and Bosniaks supported the independence, but the Serbs boycotted and ultimately, with the Yugoslavian Army's support, declared war.
Croatia:
Croatia, being dominated by communism for nearly 50 years, began to revolt and demanded Croatian nationalism. The Croats viewed Serbs as having too many special privileges under communist rule. After achieving their independence in 1991, Croatia had a 600,000 Serbian minority. Serbs, frightened that their peasantry of the Turkish Empire would return under the independence of the Croats, were unwilling to continue to live in a Croatian independent state.
The Clash of the Serbs:
With tensions high between the three ethnic groups, things quickly escalated a civil war among the Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. The Croatian army joined forces with the Croats in Bosnia to take over the west of the republic, near Croatia's Adriatic coast. At the same time, Serbs declared independence in the "Independent Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina," or Republika Srpska. Serbia's primary goal was to secure the Bosnian territory and "cleanse" the area of any nationality that was not Serbian. The Serbs wanted to remove Muslims from an area comprising about two-thirds of Bosnia so that this territory could be merged with the two autonomous Serbian regions of Croatia and Serbia. This new territory would be deemed 'Greater Serbia'.
During the 1991-1995 war, one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles was the Battle of Vukovar. This war lasted 87 days between the months of August to November 1991. The Serbian policy of 'ethnic cleansing' was responsible for the mass increase of Muslim refugees seeking refuge in neighboring European countries, Syria, and Turkey. Because of the devastation, "7,000 Croats and non-Serbs were sent to concentration camps and approximately 22,000 fled for their lives". The detention camps/concentration camps where the Serbs held large numbers of Muslim prisoners were not, however, places of extermination.
In the midst of war, the UN (United Nations) separated Croatia into four areas to disconnect the battling groups of Serbs and Croats. When Croatia later got involved in the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, Bosniak Muslims were also separated.
The war ended with a military stalemate and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, which was negotiated at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base between November 1-21, 1995 and then signed in Paris on December 14, 1995. Bosnia and Herzegovina is now separated into two areas, one where the Bosnian Serbs are dominant and another where the Bosnian Muslims and Croats are dominant. Tensions still run high amongst these groups. (Borgen Project)
In Bosnia, the three main nationalities (Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians) lived peacefully and in harmony among one another. The population was split with the majority being Muslims 44%, the Serbs with 32%, and the Croats with 17%. (Borgen Project) However, after the European Community conducted a referendum on the Bosnian independence, ethnic lines were drawn with what would become a bloody line. The Croats and Bosniaks supported the independence, but the Serbs boycotted and ultimately, with the Yugoslavian Army's support, declared war.
Croatia:
Croatia, being dominated by communism for nearly 50 years, began to revolt and demanded Croatian nationalism. The Croats viewed Serbs as having too many special privileges under communist rule. After achieving their independence in 1991, Croatia had a 600,000 Serbian minority. Serbs, frightened that their peasantry of the Turkish Empire would return under the independence of the Croats, were unwilling to continue to live in a Croatian independent state.
The Clash of the Serbs:
With tensions high between the three ethnic groups, things quickly escalated a civil war among the Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. The Croatian army joined forces with the Croats in Bosnia to take over the west of the republic, near Croatia's Adriatic coast. At the same time, Serbs declared independence in the "Independent Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina," or Republika Srpska. Serbia's primary goal was to secure the Bosnian territory and "cleanse" the area of any nationality that was not Serbian. The Serbs wanted to remove Muslims from an area comprising about two-thirds of Bosnia so that this territory could be merged with the two autonomous Serbian regions of Croatia and Serbia. This new territory would be deemed 'Greater Serbia'.
During the 1991-1995 war, one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles was the Battle of Vukovar. This war lasted 87 days between the months of August to November 1991. The Serbian policy of 'ethnic cleansing' was responsible for the mass increase of Muslim refugees seeking refuge in neighboring European countries, Syria, and Turkey. Because of the devastation, "7,000 Croats and non-Serbs were sent to concentration camps and approximately 22,000 fled for their lives". The detention camps/concentration camps where the Serbs held large numbers of Muslim prisoners were not, however, places of extermination.
In the midst of war, the UN (United Nations) separated Croatia into four areas to disconnect the battling groups of Serbs and Croats. When Croatia later got involved in the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, Bosniak Muslims were also separated.
The war ended with a military stalemate and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, which was negotiated at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base between November 1-21, 1995 and then signed in Paris on December 14, 1995. Bosnia and Herzegovina is now separated into two areas, one where the Bosnian Serbs are dominant and another where the Bosnian Muslims and Croats are dominant. Tensions still run high amongst these groups. (Borgen Project)
BOSNIAN CIVIL WAR editorial photo
"The war led to mass economic destruction. A quarter of the economy was destroyed, as there were $36 billion of war damages and 180,000 destroyed homes." -- Borgen Project