A verdict will be handed down on
Tuesday on the appeal of Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, who was sentenced
to life in prison for genocide and war crimes in Srebrenica.
According to the French news agency
AFP, the Serb commander, known as the "butcher of Bosnia," was
sentenced to life in prison by a UN war crimes tribunal in 2017. Judges will
rule on the case on Tuesday night on Mladic's appeal.
Mladic, 78, is expected to appear in
court on Tuesday to hear his appeal, where he last erupted in anger against the
West.
How did the tragedy happen?
On July 11, 1995, 8,000 Muslims were
massacred in the Bosnian region of Srebrenica, considered the worst genocide
since World War II.
First siege in 1992:
The Muslim-majority town of
Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia has been occupied by Serb troops since the siege
of the capital, Sarajevo, began in April 1992 at the start of the Bosnian war.
Other towns in the East Darina Valley
were also captured. Bosnian Muslims recaptured the besieged area, but were
recaptured by Serbs later in the year.
The United Nations has declared a
"safe zone."
Between March and April 1993, some
8,000 people fled the rebel-held enclave, while dozens were killed in bombings
by Bosnian Serb forces.
When heavy tanks and artillery
battles erupted in the town on April 16, the UN Security Council declared
Srebrenica a "safe zone" protected by UN and NATO forces. Be
The next day in Sarajevo, an
agreement was reached for a ceasefire and the evacuation of the area, but it
was never observed.
Departure of peacekeepers
On March 1, 1994, the United Nations
sent peacekeepers to the besieged area to control the situation.
Tensions begin in 1995
In early July 1995, Bosnian Serb
tanks were just two kilometers from the town when an attack on Muslims began.
On July 11, NATO launched air strikes on two Serb tanks.
On the same day, Mladic, the leader
of the Bosnian Serb army, captured Srebrenica, forcing thousands of refugees to
take refuge in a Dutch army camp.
Massacre of Muslims
After the capture of Srebrenica,
Maldich ordered the eviction of all civilians, including women and children,
and imprisoned men capable of fighting.
The Bosnian Serb army systematically
killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys and dumped their bodies in mass
graves.
The Serbs later dug several graves
and re-buried the bodies to hide the evidence.
Eyewitnesses to the incident told
horrific stories of Bosnian Serb massacre, rape and torture.
On July 24 and November 16, Bosnian
Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Mladic were convicted of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal.