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The '''Bosnian War''' (1 April 1992- 14 November 1995) was an armed conflict fought in newly-independent [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] between three parties: the [[Bosniaks]] (Bosnian Muslims), the Bosnian [[Croats]] and Bosnian [[Serbs]]. The ''Causus belli'' was the Bosnian-Herzegovinian declaration of independence from [[Yugoslavia]] by the Muslim-led government of President [[Alija Izetbegovic]].
The '''Bosnian War''' (1 April 1992- 14 November 1995) was an armed conflict fought in newly-independent [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] between three parties: the [[Bosniaks]] (Bosnian Muslims), the Bosnian [[Croats]] and Bosnian [[Serbs]]. The war began when Serbia rejected the Bosnian-Herzegovinian declaration of independence from [[Yugoslavia]] by the Muslim-led government of President [[Alija Izetbegovic]]. Serbia intervened to support the Serbs living in Bosnia
The war was characterized by unclear battle lines, ethnic tension, and the mass killing of civilians. The [[Srebrenica massacre]], the largest massacre in Europe since [[World War II]], resulted in the death of over 8,000 Bosnian [[Muslim]]s at the hands of the Army of [[Republika Srpska]], and has been identified as [[genocide]] by the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>[http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/bosnia.htm Srebrenica massacre]</ref> All parties in the conflict engaged in vicious human rights violations.
==War==
The war was characterized by unclear battle lines, ethnic tension, and the mass killing of civilians. The [[Srebrenica massacre]], the largest massacre in Europe since [[World War II]], resulted in the death of over 8,000 Bosnian [[Muslim]]s at the hands of the Army of [[Republika Srpska]], and has been identified as [[genocide]] by the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>[http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/bosnia.htm Srebrenica massacre]</ref> All parties in the conflict engaged in vicious human rights violations. Serbs hate the Bosnians Muslims, saying that Bosnian leader Alija Izetbegovic represents the opening wedge of an Islamic fundamentalist power grab.
President Izetbegovic formed a ''mujaheddin'' and invited foreign [[jihad]]ists to fight alongside the [[Bosnian Army]]. The fighters committed many atrocities against the Serbs, including beheadings and torture. Their strength is estimated at around 6,000 fighters. Prominent fighters included [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], the alleged mastermind of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]].<ref>[[Tim Marshall]], [http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,91134-bosnia_p3705,00.html The Hidden Army Of Radical Islam], [[Sky News]], February 2006</ref> The Bosnian Army also received arms from [[Iran]] and military training from Iran's [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps]] (IRGC).<ref>{{cite web
==Sarajevo==
Serbian forces in the nearby hills shelled [[Sarajevo]] continuously for nearly four years; only a tunnel linked the capital with the outside world.
==United Nations==
The United Nations, which has branded Milosevic the aggressor in the conflict tried to intervene, as did the European Community ([[EU]]). The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) proved impotent; its troop convoys have repeatedly came under Serbian fire and took casualties; U.N. troops had to leave the Sarajevo airport Serbian forces simply drove up their tanks and began shelling the Bosnian defenders from right in front of the neutral U.N.
==Jihad==
President Izetbegovic formed a ''mujaheddin'' and invited foreign [[jihad]]ists to fight alongside the [[Bosnian Army]]. The fighters committed many atrocities against the Serbs. Their strength is estimated at around 6,000 fighters. The Bosnian Army also received arms from [[Iran]] and military training from Iran's [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps]] (IRGC).<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1997/iran.htm
|url=http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1997/iran.htm
|title=Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
|title=Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
|publisher=[[United States Senate]]
|publisher=[[United States Senate]]
|date=1997-01-16}}</ref> An unknown number of ''mujaheddin'' fighters from Bosnia later joined the ranks of the [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] in its fight against [[Serbia|Serbian]] authorities in the then-southern Serbian province of [[Kosovo]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Scott Taylor|title=Bin Laden’s Balkan Connections|publisher=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=December 15, 2001}}</ref>
|date=1997-01-16}}</ref> An unknown number of ''mujaheddin'' fighters from Bosnia later joined the ranks of the [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] in its fight against Serbian authorities in the then-southern Serbian province of [[Kosovo]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Scott Taylor|title=Bin Ladens Balkan Connections|publisher=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|date=December 15, 2001}}</ref>
==NATO==
Finally [[NATO]] intervention with 60,000 troops and air power ended the war, through the NATO-led Implementation Force in Bosnia (IFOR) and the NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia (SFOR). The threat of allied air attacks finally forced the Serbs to compromise. The U.S. sent 38,000 troops in Bosnia; the last ones left in 2006.
==Dayton peace accords==
The 1995 Dayton Agreement, signed by leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and brokered by President [[Bill Clinton]], divided Bosnia into separate ethnic regions; the goal was to settle peace between the Bosnians and Serbs. Dayton, however, unintentionally ensured that the Serbian inhabitants of Sarajevo and its suburbs would be forced to leave during 1996-98. Though many envisioned that following Dayton, Sarajevo would be governed by three ethnic groups, Yugoslav President [[Slobodan Milosevic]] unexpectedly allowed the Bosnians to control the city and much of the surrounding region. Although they were strongly urged to encourage the Serbs to stay in Bosnian-controlled Sarajevo, Bosnian authorities appeared unwilling or unable to control the sometimes violent intimidation of Serbs by Bosnians. Many Serbs who decided to flee Sarajevo participated in looting of local factories, businesses, and homes, and coerced fellow Serbs to also leave the region. Unable to provide adequate security for the remaining Serb population, NATO organizations also failed to maintain a multiethnic region and stem the Serb exodus from Sarajevo.<ref> Louis Sell, "The Serb Flight from Sarajevo: Dayton's First Failure," ''East European Politics & Societies'' 2000 14(1): 179-202,</ref>
==Further reading==
* Burg, Steven L. and Paul Shoup, eds. '' The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina: ethnic conflict and international intervention'' (1999) - 499 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=SopQbK_nAxgC&dq=intitle:war+intitle:in+intitle:bosnia&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]
* Clark, Wesley K. ''Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat'' (2001) 479 pp. a primary source; General Clark, the NATO commander, later ran for president as a Democrat in 2004.
* Daalder, Ivo H. ''Getting to Dayton: The Making of America's Bosnia Policy'' (1999)
* Holbrooke, Richard. ''To End a War'' (1998), on diplomacy; a primary source
* Ripley, Tim. ''Operation Deliberate Force: The UN and NATO Campaign in Bosnia 1995'' (1999) * Rogel, Carole. ''The breakup of Yugoslavia and the war in Bosnia'' (1998) - 182 pages; basic introduction [http://books.google.com/books?id=GPQKYuWisi0C&dq=intitle:war+intitle:in+intitle:bosnia&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]
* Shrader, Charles R. ''The Muslim-Croat civil war in Central Bosnia: a military history, 1992-1994'' (2003); 223 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceXJTw71MC&dq=intitle:war+intitle:in+intitle:bosnia&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0 excerpt and text search]
==References==
==References==
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<references/>
==see also==
==see also==
* [[Sarajevo]]
* [[Yugoslavia]]
* [[Yugoslavia]]
[[Category:Balkans]]
[[Category:Balkans]]
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Wars]]