February 5, 1994 – Bosnian War: Bosnian Serb forces commit the first of two Markale massacres
On February 5, 1994, Bosnian Serb forces of the Army of Republika Srpska fired a mortar shell into the crowded Markale (market) in Sarajevo (the capital of Bosnian and Herzegovina), killing 68 civilians and wounded 144 others. A second attack on the Markale occurred on August 28, 1995, where five mortar shells killed 43 people and wounded 75 others. The two incidents occurred during the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. They are now known as the Markale Massacres, which the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have declared as ethnic cleansing perpetrated by troops of the Army of Republika Srpska.
Yugoslavia comprised six republics, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, and Macedonia, and two autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina.
(Taken from Bosnian War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)
Many atrocities and human rights violations were committedin the war, the great majority of which were perpetrated by Bosnian Serbs, butalso by Bosnian Croats, and to a much lesser extent, by Bosniaks.
Bosnian Croat forces also perpetrated many atrocities,including those that occurred in the Lasva Valley, which caused thedeaths and forced disappearances of 2,000 Bosniaks, as well as other violentacts against civilians. Bosniak forcesalso committed crimes against civilians and captured soldiers, but these wereof much less frequency and severity.
About 90% of all crimes in the Bosnian War were attributedto Bosnian Serbs. The ICTY has convictedand meted out punishments to many perpetrators, who generally were militarycommanders and high-ranking government officials. The war caused some 100,000 deaths, bothcivilian and military; over two million persons were displaced by the fighting.
After the war, Bosnia-Herzegovina retained its territorialintegrity. As a direct consequence ofthe war, Bosnia-Herzegovina established a decentralized government composed oftwo political and geographical entities: the Republicof Bosnia and Herzegovina (consistingof Bosniak and Bosnian Croat majorities) and the Republic of Srpska(consisting of Bosnian Serbs). Thepresident of Bosnian-Herzegovina is elected on rotation, with a Bosniak,Bosnian Croat, and Bosnian Serb taking turns as the country’s head of state.
Background Bosnia-Herzegovinahas three main ethnic groups: Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), comprising 44% of thepopulation, Bosnian Serbs, with 32%, and Bosnian Croats, with 17%. Sloveniaand Croatiadeclared their independences in June 1991. On October 15, 1991, the Bosnian parliament declared the independence ofBosnia-Herzegovina, with Bosnian Serb delegates boycotting the session inprotest. Then acting on a request fromboth the Bosnian parliament and the Bosnian Serb leadership, a EuropeanEconomic Community arbitration commission gave its opinion, on January 11,1992, that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s independence cannot be recognized, since noreferendum on independence had taken place.
Bosnian Serbs formed a majority in Bosnia’snorthern regions. On January 5, 1992,Bosnian Serbs seceded from Bosnia-Herzegovina and established their owncountry. Bosnian Croats, who alsocomprised a sizable minority, had earlier (on November 18, 1991) seceded fromBosnia-Herzegovina by declaring their own independence. Bosnia-Herzegovina, therefore, fragmentedinto three republics, formed along ethnic lines.
Furthermore, in March 1991, Serbia and Croatia, two Yugoslavconstituent republics located on either side of Bosnia-Herzegovina, secretlyagreed to annex portions of Bosnia-Herzegovina that contained a majoritypopulation of ethnic Serbians and ethnic Croatians. This agreement, later re-affirmed by Serbiansand Croatians in a second meeting in May 1992, was intended to avoid armedconflict between them. By this time,heightened tensions among the three ethnic groups were leading to openhostilities.
Mediators from Britainand Portugalmade a final attempt to avert war, eventually succeeding in convincingBosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats to agree to share political powerin a decentralized government. Just tendays later, however, the Bosnian government reversed its decision and rejectedthe agreement after taking issue with some of its provisions.
