How did the Bosnian War change where different ethnic groups lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Before the 1992–95 war, Bosnia and Herzegovina was characterized by an intricate "mosaic" of ethnic distribution, where Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats lived in mixed towns and villages. The Bosnian War fundamentally altered this landscape through ethnic cleansing, a violent process aimed at creating ethnically pure territories.12

This conflict resulted in the following shifts:

• Mass Displacement: The war displaced more than two million people, roughly half the country's population. While some returned to their prewar homes, many others resettled in areas where their own ethnic group constituted the majority.231
• Territorial Division: The Dayton Accords formalized the country's division into two highly autonomous entities: the Republika Srpska, which is predominantly Serb, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is primarily composed of Bosniaks and Croats.34
• Loss of Diversity: The violence effectively dismantled the prewar pattern of mixed communities, leaving the country as a highly decentralized and ethnically divided state.13

These actions were morally reprehensible, as they involved the systematic expulsion and targeting of civilian populations based on their ethnic identity.23