Prelude to Genocide

Srebrenica is located in the Drina river valley of Eastern Bosnia, around 15 kilometers from the Serbian border. For decades prior to the collapse of Yugoslavia, members of different ethnic groups co-existed in Srebrenica. In 1991, of the city’s 37,000 inhabitants, 27,000 were Muslim and 9,000 Serb. In April 1992, amid the collapse of Yugoslavia, Serb paramilitary groups took control of Srebrenica. A month later, the town was retaken by the Army of Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). In September, ARBiH forces succeeded in linking Srebrenica to the neighbouring town Zepa. However, the enclave remained isolated from the majority of the ARBiH. In January 1993, Bosnian Serb forces launched an offensive to take over the areas around Srebrenica which had been under the control of the ARBiH. After months of fighting, the link between Srebrenica and Zepa was severed. Muslims from neighbouring areas fled to Srebrenica, swelling the town’s population to 60,000.