Dutch court says Netherlands not to blame for Srebrenica deaths

11/09/2008

THE HAGUE, the Netherlands -- A Dutch court on Wednesday (September 10th) ruled that the Netherlands is not responsible for its troops' failure to protect the enclave of Srebrenica in 1995. Suing were Bosnian Muslim survivors of the Srebrenica massacre, which killed an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys. In its ruling, the court advised assessing the Dutch troops' behaviour in the context of the UN operation in which they participated. The Netherlands insists the UN abandoned its troops, giving them no air support against advancing Serbs. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, however, say public documents show Dutch military officials within the UN blocked air support because they feared "friendly fire" could hit their soldiers. (B92, Reuters, AFP, RTRS, Tanjug - 10/09/08)