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What happened during the Srebrenica genocide?

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Bosnian conflict: destruction in Sarajevo — Bosnian War Buildings and vehicles destroyed in Grbavica, a suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian conflict (1992–95).

The Srebrenica genocide was the systematic slaughter of more than 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. Occurring during the Bosnian War, this act of ethnic cleansing remains the worst episode of mass murder in Europe since World War II.12

The Offensive and Massacre

In 1993, the United Nations had designated Srebrenica a "safe area," yet when Bosnian Serb forces launched an offensive in July 1995, the vastly outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers stationed there were unable to intervene. After the town fell, Bosnian Serb forces separated men and boys from women and children. While thousands of civilians were forcibly expelled, the men and boys were taken to various sites—including fields, warehouses, and schools—and executed.134

Accountability and Legacy

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) classified the killings as genocide, convicting senior Bosnian Serb leaders, including Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, for their roles. The international community, including the UN, has faced significant criticism for failing to protect the victims. Efforts to identify the remains of the victims continue, with thousands identified through DNA analysis.152