In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the war may have ended 30 years ago, but the ethnic tensions present in the country continue to divide. 

A Bosnian muslim woman mourns next grave of her relative, victim of the Srebrenica genocide, in Memorial Centre in Potocarı, Bosnia, Tuesday, July 11, 2023 | Photo: AP


OUTLOOK

30/12/2024
Click here to find Outlook's 11 January 2025 issue 'War and Peace.'

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the war may have ended 30 years ago, but the ethnic tensions present in the country continue to divide. From 1992 to 1995, an active effort was made to ethnically cleanse Bosnia as a result of which non-Serbs in the state were subject to genocide.

The Bosnian War resulted in the deaths of around 100,000 people and some of the worst violence Europe has seen since the Second World War.

Thirty years since the war ended and the horrific genocide in Srebrenica, ethnic tensions continue to divide the Balkan country. The deep divide between Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats continues to this day. These tensions have also caused the division of the state into two political entities based on the ethnic populations.

What Was The Bosnian War

The Breakup Of Yugoslavia And Rise In Ethnic Tensions

The breakup of Yugoslavia led to the creation of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Prior to 1980, these six republics formed the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia and were ruled by Marshal Josip Tito.

Following Tito's death, there was a rise in ethnic nationalism across Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia and from 1991 onwards, the country began to disintegrate based on their ethnicity resulting in the formation of five independent republics.


In February 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina conducted a referendum and with 99.7 percent of the vote, it emerged as an independent state.

After the international recognition of Bosnia in April 1992, violent clashes erupted between Bosniaks and Serbs in the nation.


Over the next three years, fighting between Serbs and the combined forces of Croats and Bosniaks erupted.


Sarajevo Seized


With help from Yugoslavian forces, Serb forces moved to the capital of Sarajevo and seized the city. This seizure led to four years of full-scale hostilities, terror, persecution and the worst ethnic cleansing campaign Europe witnessed since the Holocaust.


Bosnian-Serbs, who stayed loyal to Republika Srpska and Serbia, set out to ethnically cleanse Bosnia and heavily targeted Bosniak-Muslims.


Despite the declaration of Sarajevo, Goradze, Srebrenica as safe zones for the Bosniak-Muslim population by the UNSC in 1993 and the deployment of the UN peacekeeping force, the Serbs continued their goal to cleanse Bosnia, and force Muslims out of the country.



The war continued to escalate with NATO strikes in 1994 and ultimately led to the largest massacre in Europe since 1945.

Main Factions Involved

Bosnia-Herzegovina has been a multi-ethnic state since it was a part of the federation of Yugoslavia. The Balkan state was mainly inhabited by Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.


In the Bosnian war, all three factions played a key role.


Bosniaks were considered to be mainly ethnically Bosnians, who were loyal to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war, Bosniaks were organised into the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and were supported by the Croats.



Croats were those people who were loyal to the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatia. At the beginning of the war, Croat forces supported both Bosniaks and Serbs. However, as the war went on, the Croatian Army engaged against Serbian forces.


Serbs were those people who expressed their loyalty to Republika Srpska - the Serbian-populated portion of Bosnia. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbs did not wish to break away and were mobilised towards the creation of a "greater Serbia" or another federation of Yugoslavia.


Srebrenica Genocide

From 1995 onwards, after Bosnian-Serbs were ordered by Radovan Karadžić to eliminate the Muslim enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa, Bosniak-Muslims faced one the worst massacres in European history.


On July 11, Serb forces marched in Srebrenica and carried out the largest massacre Europe had seen since the Holocaust during WW2.


Led by military commander Ratka Mladic, Bosnian Serb forces stormed into Srebrenica, which was a UNSC declared safe zone guarded by UN peacekeeping forces, to carry out their goal of eliminating the Muslim population.


Serb forces detained all Bosniak-Muslim men of "battle age" and slaughtered them. Around 8,000 men were killed by the Serb forces. Along with this, over 23,000 women and children were pushed onto buses and forced out of the enclave. 30 years later, the mortal remains of around 1,000 people killed in the Srebrenica massacre are yet to be found.


Dayton Peace Accords And End Of War

Following the Srebrenica genocide and the sharp rise in the ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks, the US, Russia and other world powers gathered and called for an end to the war.


Brokered by the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and the EU, the Dayton Peace Accords were signed, calling for the established of a single sovereign state - comprised of two parts - Serb-populated Republika Srpska and the Croat-Bosniak-populated Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


With the signing of these accords, the Bosnian war came to an end.


Ethnic Conflict Continues To Divide Bosnia-Herzegovina


Memories of the war and the deep ethnic divide continue to haunt Bosnia-Herzegovina. Speaking to the Centre for European Policy Analysis, Saravejo journalist Leila Bičakčić says that tensions remain "as bad as they were in the 1990s."


Following the end of the war, Bosnia-Herzegovina was recognised as a state of two entities - Serbian Republika Srpska, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


In 2020, the Balkan state was also declared "most vulnerable" as per NATO's permeability index". "The deep divisions between Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the two constituent entities) is evident in the lack of clarity over the country’s strategic orientation," the report said.


Over in Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the current president and a Putin ally, has been accused of sparking tensions. Many fear his links with Russia and ultra-nationalist ideology may just lead to the collapse of the 1995 peace accords and a reignition of the war.


Since the end of the war, Dodik has remained a key political figure in Bosnia, especially amongst the Serbs. The Serbian president has also publicly discussed the idea of joining and creating a greater Serbia.


Furthermore, Russia's invasion of Ukraine also stirred up the rise of separatist sentiment, especially across the western Balkans. As per experts, this sentiment continues to spread due to the support from Belgrade, Moscow and China.


The Federation of Bosnia, on the other hand, remains engaged with the European Union for membership. The regional bloc, which is currently at a crossroads with Russia, opened accession talks for Bosnia-Herzegovina in March 2024.


Another point of contention between the two entities is the denial of the genocide by Serbs and Serbian politicians, despite worldwide condemnatio