Can someone explain to me the conflict between serbia and bosnia?

[Madmarv]

I really had no idea about this conflict before until I got to this forum.

What is the main conflict going on there right now, how did it start, and why?

In little words, or as many as you want and be realistic (try not to be biased)

[Serbian Canadian]

There is no conflict going on at this time. What you are referring to is the War in Bosnia which lasted from 1992-95.

The war in Bosnia is one of the four Yugoslav wars which occured in the 1990s as a result of the collapse of Yugoslavia. In order to understand what happened, you need to know a little bit about the history of Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia was established in 1918, following the first world war. It was a unification of Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian lands. In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Nazis. The territories were divided up by the Axis powers and Croatia was made into an independent Nazi puppet state, where they brutally massacred Serbs and Jews in concentration camps. At the end of WWII, Yugoslavia was reunited once again under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, who remained President until his death in 1980. Following his death, Yugoslavia began to plunge into a political and economic chaos.

By the late 1980s, without Tito's leadership, tensions between Serbs (Christian Orthodox), Croats (Catholics) and Bosnian Muslims were beginning to rise. Slobodan Milosevic, a Serbian nationalist communist was elected President of Yugoslavia. At the same time, Franjo Tudjman, a Croatian nationalist was elected President of Croatia. The Croatian government began to revive fascism, using the old Ustasha (Croatian Nazi) flag, naming popular streets after Ustashas and enacted discriminatory laws against Serbs. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia, wanting to break away from the Union, declared independence from Yugoslavia which resulted in a civil war. These were the first two wars. The war in Bosnia would be the third.

The war in Bosnia began in 1992 when Bosnia declared its independence under the leadership of an Islamic fundamentalist. Bosnia was an ethnically diverse region with large populations of Muslims, Serbs and Croats. In April 1992, the U.S. and European Union recognized Bosnia's independence, which complicated the situation. The Serbs refusing to be ruled by Muslims and wanting to preserve the territories in which Serbs were the majority, declared war.

Bosnian Serbs were much better prepared for war as they were supported by the Yugoslav People's Army (The National army of Yugoslavia) and Milosevic's Serbia. Bosnian Serbs also had much more weapons at their disposal. The Bosnian Serbs overwhelmed the Muslims and took control of key territories. This was of course a very bloody conflict, resulting in over 200 000 total deaths. In 1995, the U.S. and NATO began a bombing campaign on Serbian military in Bosnia, ending the war. A peace agreement was signed in 1995 by the Presidents of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia in Dayton, Ohio.

Bosnian Muslims currently control approximately 51% of the territory in Bosnia while the Serbs control the other 49%. The country is pretty much segregated at this point with each municipalities being overwhelmingly inhabited by a single ethnic group. The Muslims and Croats are together in one half of the territory, effectively called the "Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina", while the othe half that is inhabited by Serbs named "Republika Srpska". In practice, Republika Srpska functions as an independent state, seperate from Bosnia-Herzegovina but the International community does not recognize it as independent.

I hope I haven't confused you. This is as fast and as best I can explain it without going into too much detail.

BTW, Bosnian Muslims are the descendants of Serbs who converted to Islam when the Turks occupied the Balkans. There is no such thing as a Bosnian language or a Bosnian ethnicity.

[voo-yo]

There is no conflict going on at this time. What you are referring to is the War in Bosnia which lasted from 1992-95.

The war in Bosnia is one of the four Yugoslav wars which occured in the 1990s as a result of the collapse of Yugoslavia. In order to understand what happened, you need to know a little bit about the history of Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia was established in 1918, following the first world war. It was a unification of Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian lands. In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Nazis. The territories were divided up by the Axis powers and Croatia was made into an independent Nazi puppet state, where they brutally massacred Serbs and Jews in concentration camps. At the end of WWII, Yugoslavia was reunited once again under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito, who remained President until his death in 1980. Following his death, Yugoslavia began to plunge into a political and economic chaos.

By the late 1980s, without Tito's leadership, tensions between Serbs (Christian Orthodox), Croats (Catholics) and Bosnian Muslims were beginning to rise. Slobodan Milosevic, a Serbian nationalist communist was elected President of YugoslaviaSerbia. At the same time, Franjo Tudjman, a Croatian nationalist was elected President of Croatia. The Croatian government began to revive fascism, using the old Ustasha (Croatian Nazi) flag, naming popular streets after Ustashas and enacted discriminatory laws against Serbs. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia, wanting to break away from the Union, declared independence from Yugoslavia which resulted in a civil war. These were the first two wars. The war in Bosnia would be the third.

The war in Bosnia began in 1992 when Bosnia declared its independence under the leadership of an Islamic fundamentalist. Bosnia was an ethnically diverse region with large populations of Muslims, Serbs and Croats. In April 1992, the U.S. and European Union recognized Bosnia's independence, which complicated the situation. The Serbs refusing to be ruled by Muslims and wanting to preserve the territories in which Serbs were the majority, declared war.

Bosnian Serbs were much better prepared for war as they were supported by the Yugoslav People's Army (The National army of Yugoslavia) and Milosevic's Serbia. Bosnian Serbs also had much more weapons at their disposal. The Bosnian Serbs overwhelmed the Muslims and took control of key territories. This was of course a very bloody conflict, resulting in over 200 000 total deaths. In 1995, the U.S. and NATO began a bombing campaign on Serbian military in Bosnia, ending the war. A peace agreement was signed in 1995 by the Presidents of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia in Dayton, Ohio.

Bosnian Muslims currently control approximately 51% of the territory in Bosnia while the Serbs control the other 49%. The country is pretty much segregated at this point with each municipalities being overwhelmingly inhabited by a single ethnic group. The Muslims and Croats are together in one half of the territory, effectively called the "Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina", while the othe half that is inhabited by Serbs named "Republika Srpska". In practice, Republika Srpska functions as an independent state, seperate from Bosnia-Herzegovina but the International community does not recognize it as independent.

I hope I haven't confused you. This is as fast and as best I can explain it without going into too much detail.

BTW, Bosnian Muslims are the ancestorsdescendants of Serbs who converted to Islam when the Turks occupied the Balkans. There is no such thing as a Bosnian language or a Bosnian ethnicity.

I've corrected some minor mistakes. Btw, until WW2 Serbs were the majority in Bosnia.

[Serbian_Radical_Party]

Serbian Canadian respect for your intelligent answer which you provided to us.
Thank you for that! You have formulated an good summary!

[Serbian_Radical_Party]

I really had no idea about this conflict before until I got to this forum.

What is the main conflict going on there right now, how did it start, and why?

In little words, or as many as you want and be realistic (try not to be biased)

Our brother Serb_Canadian provided an good answer.
I will only add a few things.

The war in Bosnia was a catastrophe for the people of whole Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European factor will be engaged in the conflicts of Yugoslavia if Croatians exists and the Croatian factor will be engaged in the Bosnian conflict if the Bosnian Muslims exist!

This war could easily be avoided and nobody in Bosnia needed a war in the former Yugoslavian federal unit of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
Every side discovered that the war brought bad consequences to all the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Croatia under the rule of Franjo Tudjman committed secession from Yugoslavia in 1991 - by declaring irregular independence from the international recognized federation of Yugoslavia. This policy of Croatia was not legal because it was violating the constitution of Yugoslavia and Yugoslavia was international recognized, that means also that Yugoslavian laws were recognized on the territory of whole Yugoslavia. When in 1991 Croatia reformed the constitution of S. R Croatia, Croatia violated the nature of S. R Croatia. According to 
Yugoslavian constitution, Croatia was a bi-national state, a state of the Croats and Serbia who live in Croatia. The new constitution of Croatia (which was  introduced by Franjo Tudjman in 1991) violated the constitutional rights of the Serbs, because it reduced the Serbs - a state building nation - to a national minority. This irregular act was recognized by the Western nations.

We Serbs doubt that the international community and the West, would tolerate if for example Belgium - also an bi-national state - decides to violate the constitutional rights of one of the two peoples of Belgium, the Flemish or the Walloon people and send them in exile.
In 1991 the civilized Europe and the USA accepted the Croatian policy against the Serbs. According to this Croatian policy Serbs are no longer an state building nation on the territory where they lived for more than thousand years long.

The Croatian government could only create independent state of Croatia if first Croatia solves the Serbian question, because of course Serbs  would not allow Croatia to easily deprive them of their historical and national rights. This Croatian policy resulted into a civil war between the Krajina Serbs and the Croatian government in 1991.
Franjo Tudjman who aimed to establish ethnic clean and independent Croatia knew that Bosnian Serbs who live in the neighboring federal unit 
of Croatia, which is Bosnia, would help the Krajina Serbs. Thats why Franjo Tudjman sent Croatian troops in 1991-1992 to Bosnia to prepare the Bosnian Muslims to attack the Bosnian Serbs and to provoke a civil war in former federal unit of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If the Bosnian Serbs would have their own problems on their own territories, than they will not be able to disturb the Nazi project of Tudjman to create an independent and ethnic clean Republic of Croatia.

Bosnian Muslims were fighting and dieing for Croatia during the period between 1992 and 1995.
Croatia achieved its goals but Bosnian Muslims did not!

[serbian army]

Bosnia is Serb land.