WHY DIDN'T THEY KILL ALL 40,000 MUSLIMS IN SREBRENICA?

Every now and then, we receive questions as to why Serb forces did not kill all 40,000 Srebrenica Bosniaks in July 1995, since the Krstic judgement stated that Serbs "targeted for extinction the 40,000 Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica."

The answer to this question can be found in the appellate judgement of Radislav Krstic:

"The decision not to kill the women or children may be explained by the Bosnian Serbs’ sensitivity to public opinion. In contrast to the killing of the captured military men, such an action could not easily be kept secret, or disguised as a military operation, and so carried an increased risk of attracting international censure... The international attention focused on Srebrenica, combined with the presence of the UN troops in the area, prevented those members of the VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] Main Staff who devised the genocidal plan from putting it into action in the most direct and efficient way. Constrained by the circumstances, they adopted the method which would allow them to implement the genocidal design while minimizing the risk of retribution." (You may read Radislav Krstic's appellate judgement here).

Serbs had, however, opportunistically raped some Bosnian Muslim women during the Srebrenica genocide. In addition to rapes, they also executed at least 499 Bosniak children.

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