War in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Read more about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Find out how the war started and the effects it had on these countries and the rest of the world.

A divided country

Three factions cohabit in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. This situation leads to many tensions. The political forces of this country count on the support of one minority by representing it. Bosnia and Herzegovina have very little political unity because of the diversity of its population.

The end of the Soviet block

By 1991, the Soviet Union could no longer act as a main power. Bosnia and Herzegovina had to decide whether they wanted to stay within the Yugoslav Federation, which had strong ties with the Soviet Union, or create an independent country. Bosniak and Croat factions favored independence, while the Serb factions wanted to stay with the Federation.

The beginning of the war

The war started in March 1992, when Serb military groups attacked Bosniaks villages in the North of the country. In April, a Serb sniper shot a Bosniak woman who demonstrated in Sarajevo, the main city of the country. This incident represents the starting point of the war. Many more civilians and soldiers died over the following months.

An independent country

The proclamation of the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina finally happened when other countries recognized the existence of this country, but this did not mean the war had come to an end. The Serb factions took control of most of the country. Millions of people fled. The war ended in 1994 with the Washington Accords and the Dayton Agreements. Bosnia and Herzegovina emerged from the war as a federation of its own.

This war truly hurt a country already hindered by the difficulties encountered by the Soviet block in the early 1990s. The economy of this country has started to recover and develop again, but the memories of the war still remain.