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Description

The killings were perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladić . The Scorpions , a paramilitary unit from Serbia , who had been part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991, also participated in the massacre.[5] [11] Prior to the massacre, United Nations (UN) had declared the besieged enclave of Srebrenica , in eastern Bosnia , a "safe area " under UN protection. However, the UN failed both to demilitarize the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) within Srebrenica and to force withdrawal of the VRS surrounding Srebrenica.[12] UNPROFOR 's 370[13] lightly armed Dutchbat soldiers were unable to prevent the town's capture and the subsequent massacre.[14] [15] [16] [17] A list of missing or killed people during the massacre compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons contains 8,372 names.[1] As of July 2012, 6,838 genocide victims have been identified through DNA analysis of body parts recovered from mass graves;[18] as of July 2021, 6,671 bodies have been buried at the Memorial Centre of Potočari , while another 236 have been buried elsewhere.[19]

Description

The killings were perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladić . The Scorpions , a paramilitary unit from Serbia , who had been part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991, also participated in the massacre.[5] [11] Prior to the massacre, United Nations (UN) had declared the besieged enclave of Srebrenica , in eastern Bosnia , a "safe area " under UN protection. However, the UN failed both to demilitarize the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) within Srebrenica and to force withdrawal of the VRS surrounding Srebrenica.[12] UNPROFOR 's 370[13] lightly armed Dutchbat soldiers were unable to prevent the town's capture and the subsequent massacre.[14] [15] [16] [17] A list of missing or killed people during the massacre compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons contains 8,372 names.[1] As of July 2012, 6,838 genocide victims have been identified through DNA analysis of body parts recovered from mass graves;[18] as of July 2021, 6,671 bodies have been buried at the Memorial Centre of Potočari , while another 236 have been buried elsewhere.[19]