Bosnia and Herzegovina

Located in southeastern Europe and bordering the Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) is composed of 19,767 square miles of land, and only 4 square miles of water. Recent history was characterized by severe ethnic conflicts that devastated the population and the land between 1992 and 1995, following independence from the former Yugoslavia. In 1994, the Bosniaks and the Croats agreed to create a two-tier government composed of the Bosniak/Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (comprising 51 percent of land area) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (49 percent of land area). Governmental responsibility is shared by the federation and the Republika Srpska. Before the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in November 1995, between 100,000 and 250,000 lives were ...