Bosnian Serbs go on trial for Srebrenica massacre roles News
Bosnian Serbs go on trial for Srebrenica massacre roles

[JURIST] Four Bosnian Serbs who went on an "illegal military operation" during the Srebrenica massacre [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] in July 1995 went on trial Friday before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website; HRW backgrounder] in Sarajevo. The indictment alleges that the men, two of whom are former military policemen, helped confine two to three thousand unarmed Muslim civilians in a school after Serb forces overran Srebrenica, a UN "safe area," and participated in the abuse, beatings, and cruel treatment of their detainees. The charges against them include not preventing the massacre, failing to protect civilians during the tragedy, and executing five Muslims.

Approximately eight thousand Muslims from Srebrenica and surrounding villages were killed during the Srebrenica massacre. About half of the victims have been found in over 80 mass graves in the area. In February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized the mass killings in Srebrenica as an act of genocide [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

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