Bosnian War

First multi-party elections in Bosnia

Nov 1990

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia

September 1991

Resolution 713: UN calls for arms embargo on all former Yugoslavic states but it turns out unsuccessful, since the Serbs inherit their military from the JNA and the Bosniaks and Bosnian-Croats get their arms from Croatia

Serbian SDS forms the Bosnian Serb Assembly, intent on creating a separate Serb entity in Bosnia. Croat HDZ also begin discussing autonomy in creating a separate state

October 1991

November 1991

Bosnian Serbs SDS creates an autonomous region
Croat leadership creates autonomous communities

December 1991

Germany recognises independence of Croatian and Slovenian independence

Jan 1992

Bosnian Serbs declare the Republic of Sprska

Lisbon Agreement of 1992

Initially all 3 factions agreed to split a decentralised Bosnia into 3 different cantons, but Izetbegovic withdrew his signature after a visit from the US ambassador to Yugoslavia

29 Feb-1 March 1992

Independence Referendum in Bosnia that is boycotted by Serbs (34% of population)

3 March 1992

Bosnia declares Independence

6 April 1992

EU and US recognise Bosnian independence, Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats fail to set up joint military headquarters (chain of command). Start of Siege of by JNA and later VRS

Establishment of VRS (Republic of Sprska Army)

May 1992

Mid 1992

Ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks begin in Bosnian-Serb controlled regions

July 1992

Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation between Bosniaks and Croats

Resolution 770: Authorisation of the use of force to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance but UNPROFOR lacks means to carry it out

August 1992

Resolution 781: Establishment of a “no-fly” zone for all military aircraft in Bosnia’s airspace
Beginning of recorded Alliance breakdown due to disputes over fuel allocation

Oct 1992

Resolution 787: Inspection and verification of maritime shipping and cargo to ensure compliance with Resolution 713

Nov 1992

Vance-Owen Peace Plan proposed; rejected by Bosnian Serbs

January 1993

Feb-Mar 1993

Bosniak-Croat fighting escalates, taken advantage by Serbs

March 1993

resolution 816: UN authorises NATO states to use measures to ensure compliance with no fly zones(781)

April 1993

UN declares safe areas in selected areas in Bosnia for refugees and civilians to seek sanctuary and Operation Deny Flight by NATO begins to fulfil resolution 816(enforcing no-fly zone)

Establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

May 1993

August 1993

brief pause in fighting during negotiations for Owen-Stoltenberg plan; rejected by all and fighting continued

Renewed fighting between Bosniaks and Croats

Oct 1993

Post 1993

News of concentration camps and atrocities by Serbs against Bosniaks emerges

Feb 1994

Croats and Bosniaks stop fighting, lasting ceasefire and an end to the Bosniak-Croat war

March 1994

Washington agreement

April 1994

NATO begins first airstrikes on Serb controlled regions

1994 after April

Continued NATO airstrikes on Serbian controlled regions

June 1994

Contact Group (UK, US, Germany, France, Russia) propose new peace map, rejected by

Milosevic officially cut ties with Serbs for rejecting Contact group’s plan

Aug 1994

May 1995

Serbs attack UN peacekeepers in safe areas, taking them as hostage

11-13 July

Srebenica Massacre:

July 1995

London conference, NATO is authorised to conduct large scale air attacks in the future in response to Serb aggression

August 1995

Operation Coldstorm by Croatia: capturing of Serb held areas in Croatia, leading to a mass exodus of Serbs, reshaping military balance in Bosnia and helps Bosniaks and Croats push back against Bosnian Serb forces

Operation Deliberate force by NATO

August to September 1995

September to October 1995

Joint Bosniak-Croat offensives, supported indirectly by the US

Ceasefire Agreement signed under US mediation

October 1995

Dayton peace accords negotiated in US

November to December 1995

Dayton peace accords is signed by all parties, Bosnian war is over. Bosnia is divided into 2 regions

14 December 1995