The Balkans: Bosnia

Pick a Region:. . The Balkans:. . Bosnia

Eventually, the Croatian parts of Bosnia rebelled as well against the independent government of the newly independent Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic. Both the Serb and Croatian forces were strengthened by troops and supplies from outside, that is, from neighboring Serbia and Croatia. Photo courtesy of UNHCR Media and Public Affairs Unit(R. LeMoyne)

International press coverage was very important in motivating NATO and the UN to act to end the fighting in Bosnia. Coverage focused on

the brutal siege of Sarajevo, with its sniper war against women and children;
the over two million refugees forced out by the fighting;
the camps where thousands of civilians were interned after being driven from their homes; and
the thousands of women who were raped by soldiers, sometimes as part of campaigns to disrupt the family and break the spirit of the Bosnian Muslims¹.

In all, at least 150,000-200,000 people are known to have been killed in the Bosnian War before the United States pressured the Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians into signing the Dayton Peace Accord in November 1995.

¹ Burg, S. L. and Shoup, P. S. (1999). The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ethnic conflict and international intervention. Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

Cigar, N. (1995) Genocide in Bosnia: The policy of "ethnic cleansing." College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press.

Bert, W. (1997). The reluctant superpower: United States policy in Bosnia, 1991-1995. NY: St. Martin’s.