Srebrenica
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Srebrenica (Cyrillic alphabet: Сребреница; IPA: /srɛ.brɛ.ni.ʦa/) is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska entity. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa.
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[edit] Demographics
In the 1991 census, the municipality of Srebrenica had 37,213 residents[1]:
- 27,118 (72.9%) Muslims by nationality
- 9,381 (25.2%) Serbs (See: Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- 372 (1%) Yugoslavs
- 40 (0.1%) Croats (See: Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- 302 (0.8%) others
The town of Srebrenica itself had 5,754 residents:
- 64% Muslims by nationality
- 29% Serbs
- 5.3% Yugoslavs
- 1% others
- 0.7% Croats
[edit] Economy
Before 1992, there was a metal factory in the town, and lead, zinc, and gold mines nearby. The town's name (Srebrenica) means "silver mine".
[edit] Srebrenica massacre
During the War in Bosnia (1992–1995), the town became a Bosniak enclave. The town was defended by Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina commanded by Naser Orić. Srebrenica was surrounded by Serb army, and a UN safe area was declared, which was guarded by a small Dutch army unit and operating under the mandate of United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). In July 1995, the town was captured by the Army of Republika Srpska who deported the population of over 20,000 people. The Dutch soldiers, also called Dutchbat, failed to do anything to save them. Srebrenica's surroundings became the site of the Srebrenica genocide, where approximately eight thousand Bosniak men and boys were executed by the [Bosnian Serb Army. Thousands of people still remain missing.
July 11, 2005 marked the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. Many of the military persons responsible have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, with some already serving prison terms, such as the Serb general Radislav Krstić who received 46 years prison sentence for his role in the genocide[2]. Other ranking Serb military parties as well as responsible political figures are still at large.
[edit] See also
- Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Srebrenica massacre
- Bosnian Genocide
- History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Srebrenica Genocide Memorial
[edit] References
- ^ Bosna i Hercegovina - Ustavna regija - Sjeveroistok (Bosnian)
- ^ Srebrenica judgement: Excerpts - by BBC (English)
[edit] External links
- Opština Srebrenica - Srebrenica Municipality (Serbo-Croat)
- Official site of a Bosnian NGO Citizens Associations "Women of Srebrenica" (Bosnian)
