The world watched and allowed a brutal genocide three decades ago in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica. A tragically similar crisis is looming again. Global leaders know how this could end, and they have no excuse to stand by. Indeed, they are bound by law and human decency to intervene and protect the 120,000 civilians in the Armenian-majority Republic of Artsakh.
Upon the breakup of the former Yugoslavia 30 years ago, Bosnia declared independence. The Serbian central government responded by launching a brutal military campaign to crush Bosnia’s attempt at self-determination.
The conflict reached a critical point with the siege of Srebrenica, whose residents included a Bosnian self-defense force and many civilians. During the siege, the United Nations provided some emergency supplies, but hardly enough to meet the needs of the besieged population. Following a period of starvation, in July 1995 Serbian forces entered the city and began killing civilians. The Srebrenica genocide was underway.
