The Srebrenica massacre , also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( ) , was the July 1995 killing of more than 8,000 Bosniaks ( Bosnian Muslims ) , mainly men and boys , in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War . The killing was perpetrated by units of the Army of Republika Srpska ( VRS ) under the command of General Ratko Mladić . The Secretary-General of the United Nations described the mass murder as the worst crime on European soil since the Second World War . A paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions , officially part of the Serbian Interior Ministry until 1991 , participated in the massacre , along with several hundred Russian and Greek volunteers
Srebrenica massacre
Srebrenica massacre
Persecution of Muslims