This multicultural country created after World War I by the victorious Western Allies. Yugoslavia was composed of ethnic and religious groups that had been rivals in the past, including the Serbs (orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholics) and ethnic Albanians (Muslims) Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignry in October 1991 and independence from the former Yugoslavia on March 3, 1992 after a referred to them for a direct decision, boycotted by ethnic Serbians. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to forma "Greater Serbia."
Ethnic Cleansing is the attempt to create ethnically homogenous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing sometimes inches the removal of all physical vestiges of the targeted group through the destruction of monuments, cemeteries, and houses of worship. With Slovenia and Croatia declaring their sovereignty in June of 1991 it was clear that Yugoslavia would fall apart. Fighting began almost immediately after the two republics declared their independence from Yugoslavia and this was only the beginning of what would prove to be Europe's bloodiest war since World War II. The war lasted from 1992-1995 killing 200,000 people in the genocide.
The Serbians lashed out at the Bosnian Muslims and attempted to rid Bosnia of them because of the collective suffering and stigma that had been passed on through the generations until the present day was brought back into public consciousness by propaganda from nationalistic parties who felt a need for revenge to reciprocate the suffering and abuses the Serbians experienced at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Their neighbors felt a strong sense of hatred towards Bosnian no only because of the abuses of the Ottoman Empire and their privileged position as a result of converting to Islam, but also because they were perceived as traitors to their nation who chose the easy way out by converting to Islam while their Christian relatives suffered.
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Ethnic Cleansing is the attempt to create ethnically homogenous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups. Ethnic cleansing sometimes inches the removal of all physical vestiges of the targeted group through the destruction of monuments, cemeteries, and houses of worship. With Slovenia and Croatia declaring their sovereignty in June of 1991 it was clear that Yugoslavia would fall apart. Fighting began almost immediately after the two republics declared their independence from Yugoslavia and this was only the beginning of what would prove to be Europe's bloodiest war since World War II. The war lasted from 1992-1995 killing 200,000 people in the genocide.
The Serbians lashed out at the Bosnian Muslims and attempted to rid Bosnia of them because of the collective suffering and stigma that had been passed on through the generations until the present day was brought back into public consciousness by propaganda from nationalistic parties who felt a need for revenge to reciprocate the suffering and abuses the Serbians experienced at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Their neighbors felt a strong sense of hatred towards Bosnian no only because of the abuses of the Ottoman Empire and their privileged position as a result of converting to Islam, but also because they were perceived as traitors to their nation who chose the easy way out by converting to Islam while their Christian relatives suffered.
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