Bosnia-Herzegovina. Formerly a federal republic of Yugoslavia

I he republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina lies in the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It was formerly one of the six federal republics of Yugoslavia. In 1991, the Yugoslav federation began to break apart, and in 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina became an independent republic.

Formerly a federal republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina became an independent republic in 1992.

Geographically, Bosnia-Herzegovina is made up of two regions. Bosnia, the northern part, is a mountainous land covered with thick forests, while Herzegovina, the southern part, consists mainly of rolling hills and fiat farmland.

Set amid the rolling hills of southern Herzegovina, the village of Pocitelj, above, has preserved the traditional elements of Turkish architecture—low wooden houses topped with roofs made of red tile.

Bosnia-Herzegovina remains primarily a rural country with few cities and towns. Its chief industries produce electrical appliances and textiles.

Before war broke out in 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina was a culturally diverse region, blending Islamic, Christian, Central European, and Mediterranean traditions. The majority of the people speak Serbo-Croatian, but the Serbs use the Cyrillic alphabet, while the Croats and the Muslims use the Roman alphabet.

The region that is now Bosnia-Herzegovina was settled by Illyrian tribes more than 2,000 years ago. It became part of a Roman province in about 11 B.C. After A.D. 395, control of the area shifted among Byzantine, Croatian, Hungarian, and Serbian rulers until the Ottoman Turks took over in the late 1400's.

Between the 800's and the 1000's, Bosnia belonged to the medieval Croatian kingdom, while Herzegovina was incorporated into the Serbian kingdoms. Hungary conquered Bosnia in the early 1100's. The first Bosnian state emerged in the late 1110's.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was part of the Ottoman Empire from the mid-1 400's until Austria-Hungary gained control in 1878. In 1914, a Serbian patriot from Bosnia assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary in the city of Sarajevo. The assassination touched off World War 1(1914-191 8). After the war ended, Bosnia-Herzegovina became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia.

In 1946, Bosnia-Herzegovina became one of the six republics of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In March 1992, a majority of Bosnian Muslims and ethnic Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina voted for independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum that was boycotted by the Serbs.

Fighting broke out between the Serbs, who claimed part of the republic, and the Muslims and Croats. The Serbs, who wished to "cleanse" the region of all non-Serbs, soon gained control of more than two-thirds of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Much of the fighting centered around the capital city of Sarajevo.

In June 1994, a United Nations (UN) commission investigating war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina accused Bosnian Serbs of a campaign of genocide against Bosnian Croats and Muslims.

In July 1994, the Bosnian Serbs rejected an international peace plan which called for the partitioning of Bosnia. The plan, which was accepted by the Croats and Bosnians, would have given the Bosnian Serbs 49 per cent of the territory and 51 per cent to the Muslim-Croat federation.

In November 1994, a Bosnian army offensive drove Serbs off land they held in north-west Bosnia-Herzegovina. In retaliation, the Serbs attacked Bihac, a Muslim stronghold. In 1995, the presidents of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia agreed on a peace plan. Under the plan, Bosnia-Herzegovina would keep its borders but split into two sub-states, one dominated by Bosnian Serbs and one by the Muslim-Croat federation. In 1996, Muslim, Croat, and Serb forces withdrew from the zones of separation established by the peace agreement. The exchange of territory was marked by violence on all sides.

By early 2001, multiethnic and reformist parties assembled a coalition to rule the country. Soon afterward, the Bosnian Croats announced plans to create their own state within Bosnia.