Throughout most of the war the Bosnian Serbs fought against both the Bosniaks ( '' Muslims '' ) and the Bosnian Croats . During Bosniak-Croat hostilities the Serbs co-operated largely with the Croats . There were exceptions to this , however , as Serb forces were also allied with the pro-Yugoslav Bosniaks of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia under Fikret Abdić . Serb forces also carried out ethnic cleansing operations against non-Serbs living within their territory , the most formidable was the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 . During most of the war , Republika Srpska held around 70 % of the country . During the entire length of war the Army of Republika Srpska carried out a siege of Sarajevo , allegedly in order to tie down the Bosnian forces and their resources . The siege was mostly justified with the reason of defending Sarajevo 's surrounding Serb villages , which were almost exclusivelly inhabited by ethnic Serbs . Republika Srpska maintained close ties with the Republic of Srpska Krajina and received volunteers and supplies from FR Yugoslavia during the war . RS received a large number of Serb refugees from other Yugoslav hotzones , particularly non-Serb held areas in Sarajevo , Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatia . In 1993 , the Owen-Stoltenberg peace treaty was suggested that would give 52 % of BiH to the Serb side . It was refused by the Bosniak side as too large of a concession
Srebrenica massacre
Srebrenica massacre
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina