Yugoslav wars

The Yugoslav wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia that took place between 1991-2001. They comprised two sets of successive wars affecting all of the six former Yugoslav republics. Alternative terms in use include the "War in the Balkans", or "War in (former) Yugoslavia", "Wars of Yugoslav Succession" or rarely the "Third Balkan War" (a term coined by British journalist Misha Glenny, alluding to the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913).

Related Topics:
Yugoslavia - 1991 - 2001 - Misha Glenny - Balkan Wars - 1912 - 1913

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The wars were characterised by bitter ethnic conflicts between the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, though the underlying cause of the conflict was political rather than ethnic – a clash over the governance of the Yugoslav republics. Almost all of the wars were both civil wars, pitting people within the same country against each other, and international wars, with military intervention from outside powers such as NATO.

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The Yugoslav wars ended with much of the former Yugoslavia reduced to poverty, with massive economic disruption and persistent instability across the territories where the worst fighting occurred. The wars were the bloodiest conflicts on European soil since the end of World War II, resulting in an estimated 300,000 deaths and millions more driven from their homes. They were also the first conflicts since World War II to have been formally judged genocidal in character and many of the key individual participants were subsequently charged with war crimes.

Related Topics:
Europe - World War II - Genocidal - War crimes

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