Bosnian Genocide
Genocides are atrocious acts of terror, usually initiated by some irrational thought or behaviors, which end up with far too many lives of men, women, and children of all ages being killed senselessly. These absurd acts of horror happen far too often in the history of the human race, with some of the most notable genocides being the Holocaust, which happened in the European nation of Germany. A far more recent genocide that took place in a different part of the European continent is known as the Bosnian genocide.
The Bosnia genocide is one that is relatively obscure however, it was nonetheless a tragic event that crippled the nation’s population and forever scarred its history. Bosnia-Herzegovina is a small country in Europe, bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the south, Croatia to the north, and Serbia to the east. The three primary ethnic groups that make up the majority of the population of Bosnia are the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims.
During World War II, German Nazis invaded and divided Yugoslavia however, when the Germans conceded defeat at the end of World War II, Yugoslavia was reunited by communist leader Josip Tito. Over the years, the bitterness and hostility of the rival ethnic and religious groups sharing the same country was brewing and bubbling until a civil war finally erupted in the early 1990s. Bosnia parted from Yugoslavia and became an independent nation in 1992. The majority population of Bosnia was made up of Muslims, while Serbs became the minority, accounting for about 32% of the Bosnian population.
The long and complex history of Bosnia is much responsible for the internal conflicts which ultimately led to the Bosnian genocide. Once Bosnia was declared an independent nation, many of the Serbs residing in Bosnia were bitter and decided to take action. The main victims of the Bosnia genocide happened to be Muslims. It is documented that approximately 200,000 lives were taken during the occurrence of the Bosnian genocide. The procedure of the Bosnian genocide was comparable to the Holocaust.
Men were systematically lined up and grouped to be gunned down and brutally murdered during the Bosnia genocide. Boys over the age of 13 were also main targets of the Serbs during the Bosnian genocide. Women and young children were victims of sexual violence and rape while the Bosnia genocide occurred. The Bosnia genocide is a truly horrific event that left thousands of families separated and until this day, there are still people considered missing and thousands more without a proper burial and funeral.
