# Canonical recap data for Srebrenica Massacre (1995)
# Source: https://recap.at/1995/srebrenica-massacre
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: srebrenica-massacre
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1995/srebrenica-massacre"
title: Srebrenica Massacre
aliases:
- Srebrenica genocide
- Fall of Srebrenica
- Srebrenica massacre
subtitle: Bosnian Serb forces killed approximately 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II and a watershed for international justice.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1995-07-11
endDate: 1995-07-22
datePrecision: day
year: 1995
decade: 1990
country:
name: Bosnia and Herzegovina
slug: bosnia-herzegovina
summaryShort: The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska under Ratko Mladić, though the S
summaryLong: The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska under Ratko Mladić, though the Serb paramilitary unit Scorpions also participated. In addition, 25,000 to 30,000 Bosniaks, mainly women and children, were abused and forcibly moved out of Srebrenica. The massacre constitutes the first legally recognised genocide in Europe since the end of World War II.
lede: In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladić systematically killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslims—mostly men and boys—in the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. The massacre marked the largest mass killing in Europe since World War II and was later ruled genocide by international courts, fundamentally shaping how the world prosecutes crimes against humanity.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Srebrenica_massacre_memorial_gravestones_2009_1.jpg/1280px-Srebrenica_massacre_memorial_gravestones_2009_1.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Srebrenica massacre"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Death toll
  value: Over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys
- label: Location
  value: Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- label: Date
  value: July 11–22, 1995
- label: Primary perpetrator
  value: General Ratko Mladić, Bosnian Serb Army commander
- label: International status
  value: Ruled genocide by the ICTY in 2007; affirmed by International Court of Justice in 2022
- label: UN presence
  value: Srebrenica was a UN-designated safe area under Dutch peacekeeping protection (Dutchbat)
- label: First conviction
  value: Radislav Krstić convicted of genocide by ICTY in August 2001
timeline:
- date: 1992-04-08
  title: Bosnian War begins
  description: The Bosnian War erupts following Slovenia and Croatia's independence declarations, escalating into full-scale conflict.
- date: 1993-04-16
  title: Srebrenica declared safe area
  description: The UN designates Srebrenica as a safe area under UN protection, with Dutch troops (Dutchbat) stationed to monitor the enclave.
- date: 1995-07-11
  title: Bosnian Serbs assault Srebrenica
  description: Bosnian Serb forces launch a major offensive against the Srebrenica enclave; Dutchbat withdraws from key positions as the town falls.
- date: 1995-07-13
  title: Column attempts to break through
  description: Approximately 15,000 Bosniak civilians attempt to flee Srebrenica; thousands of men and boys are separated from the column.
- date: 1995-07-22
  title: Systematic killings conclude
  description: The main phase of mass executions ends; over 8,000 men and boys have been killed in execution sites around Srebrenica.
- date: 1996-11-08
  title: ICTY formally established cases
  description: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia opens formal investigations into Srebrenica crimes.
- date: 2001-08-02
  title: First Srebrenica genocide conviction
  description: The ICTY convicts General Radislav Krstić of genocide; the ruling marks the first international genocide conviction since Rwanda.
- date: 2007-02-19
  title: ICTY confirms genocide ruling
  description: The ICTY Appeals Chamber upholds the genocide classification in the Krstić case, cementing Srebrenica as genocide under international law.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre"
  title: Srebrenica massacre
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Srebrenica shattered the myth of European immunity from genocide and forced the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), establishing precedent for prosecuting war crimes. The massacre became a watershed moment in international humanitarian law, directly influencing interventions and accountability mechanisms for decades to follow.
categories:
- war
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- genocide
- war
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: The July 1995 massacre of over 8,000 Bosniak Muslims in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.
wikidataQid: Q170334
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Srebrenica Falls to Serbs; Thousands of Muslims Flee
  publishedAt: 1995-07-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.nytimes.com
  excerpt: As Dutch peacekeepers withdrew, Bosnian Serb forces captured the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, triggering a mass exodus of terrified civilians. Military analysts warned of potential atrocities in the days that followed.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: BBC News
  publisherSlug: bbc-news
  headline: Mass Killings Reported in Srebrenica
  publishedAt: 1995-07-14
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - bbc.co.uk/news
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Survivor accounts and refugee testimonies began surfacing within days of the enclave's fall, describing systematic executions of Bosniak men separated from families at checkpoints.
  significance: 88
  type: tv
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Reuters
  publisherSlug: reuters
  headline: Thousands Dead in Srebrenica, UN Admits Failure
  publishedAt: 1995-07-16
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - reuters.com
  excerpt: International agencies confirmed reports of mass executions targeting Bosniak Muslims as Dutch UN peacekeepers faced mounting criticism for their inability to prevent the slaughter in the supposed safe zone.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Le Monde
  publisherSlug: le-monde
  headline: "Srebrenica: Le massacre oublie des Nations unies"
  publishedAt: 1995-07-17
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - lemonde.fr
  excerpt: "FR: 'Srebrenica: le massacre oublie des Nations unies' / EN: 'Srebrenica: The massacre forgotten by the United Nations' - French media scrutinized the UN's catastrophic collapse of the peacekeeping mission and demands for accountability intensified across European capitals."
  significance: 87
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: Associated Press
  publisherSlug: associated-press
  headline: Serb Forces Kill Thousands in Bosnian Town, Witnesses Say
  publishedAt: 1995-07-18
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - apnews.com
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Eyewitness reports from fleeing survivors documented summary executions of over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys, marking what would become recognized as Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
  significance: 89
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608085008/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: Srebrenica massacre
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre"
