Chronology of events surrounding the Srebrenica massacre UNITED NATIONS, Nov 15 (AFP) - This chronology of events surrounding the massacre at Srebrenica was compiled from the report of the UN Secretary General.
1992
February 21: Security Council establishes UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to implement peace plan for Croatia proposed by UN envoy Cyrus Vance.
April 6: War between Bosnia and Serbia. European Community and United States recognize Bosnia's independence.
April-May: Tens of thousands die and one million flee their homes; most are Bosnian Muslims.
May 9: Bosnians recapture Srebrenica from Serbs. By January 1993 the enclave swells to 900 square kilometers (350 square miles) but remains isolated from Bosnian government-held territory.
1993
January 7: Enclave shrinks to 150 square kilometers (60 square miles) under Serb offensive.
March 11: UNPROFOR Commander, French General Philippe Morillon, finds Srebrenica under siege, without water or electricity and food scarce. He promises inhabitants the UN will not abandon them.
March-April: UNHCR evacuates 8,000-9,000 people to Tuzla before Bosnian government forces a halt to convoys.
April 16: Safe area of Srebrenica established by Security Council.
April 18: Agreement to demilitarize Srebrenica, evacuate wounded and allow UNPROFOR into the enclave. Srebrenica is "generally calm" for two years.
May 28: UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali says safe areas cannot work without a ceasefire and consent of all parties. He says 15,000 troops needed to "defend" Srebrenica.
June 4: Security Council authorizes 7,600 troops for UNPROFOR to "deter attacks on safe areas" but stops short of instructing it to "protect" or "defend" them.
1994
February 5: A mortar round hits a market in Sarajevo, killing 68 people.
March 31: Serb forces attack Gorazde. NATO responds with airstrikes.
April 14: Serbs take 150 UN personnel hostage near Sarajevo.
April 16: Serbs shoot down NATO plane near Gorazde. They agree to release hostages if NATO halts air patrols.
1995
February 18: Serbs cut off oil supplies to Srebrenica.
May 25: Serbs remove heavy weapons collected by UNPROFOR near Sarajevo, prompting air strikes. Serbs take 400 hostages, using some as human shields. They release them in groups by June 18.
July 6: Bosnian Serb Army attacks Srebrenica. Dutch battalion refuses to return weapons to inhabitants and unsuccessfully appeals to UNPROFOR headquarters in Sarajevo for NATO air strikes.
July 8: Serbs overrun two UNPROFOR posts. Dutch commander requests air support and is again refused. The UN and the Security Council are not told about the requests or the refusals.
July 9: Serbs overrun five more Dutch positions.
July 10: Day-long shelling. Public order breaks down.
July 11: Battalion commander makes more requests for air strikes. Serbs enter the town. NATO aircraft bomb two Serb vehicles but stop after Serbs threaten to shell the town and kill their 31 Dutch soldier prisoners.
Dutch seal battalion compound after 5,000 refugees enter, leaving more than 15,000 outside. The "vast majority of men of military age" decide to try to walk to Tuzla, 50 kilometers (30 miles) away.
Mladic promises to evacuate wounded and treat them according to Geneva Conventions. Commander tells his headquarters that the Dutch battalion and 15,000 refugees are "sitting ducks".
July 12: Srebrenica's men begin to slip out of the enclave at midnight. Around dawn, the Serbs attack them with heavy weapons and -- survivors later report -- with "non-lethal chemical weapons".
Evacuation of refugees begins under supervision of Bosnian Serbs, who separate men from women and children. The Serbs hijack UNPROFOR vehicles sent as escorts.
Serbs assemble captured Bosnian men and boys at Bratunac, about 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Srebrenica. The Dutch are not allowed to accompany them but individual battalion members witness murders.
July 13: Serbs begin mass killings of men and boys in outlying villages.
July 15: Mladic says Red Cross may enter Srebrenica, but fails to honor his agreement. The Red Cross later puts the number of missing at 7,336.
November 16: Mladic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic indicted by International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
