Key Events Leading Up To the Srebrenica Massacres

1980: Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito died, leaving a power vacuum and sowing the seeds for Yugoslavia's disintegration.

1991: Slovenia and Croatia were the first former Yugoslav republics to secede.

1992: In January, Bosnian Serb leaders revolted against a decision by Muslims and Croats for Bosnia to secede from Yugoslavia. In March, the Bosnian Serb rebels launched a massive campaign of murder and forced evictions in eastern Bosnia. Tens of thousands of Muslims were herded into three enclaves in eastern Bosnia: Srebrenica, Zepa, and Gorazde.

1993: In May, the UN declared the three enclaves, and three other Muslim towns ''safe areas'' and promised UN peacekeeping troops would protect them.

1995: As pressure for peace talks mounted in July, Bosnian Serb forces tried to take as much territory as possible and attacked Srebrenica, forcing 40,000 Muslims to flee. As many as 2,000 captured Muslim men were executed.