A VERY brief history of Bosnia in the last few years... JUST enough for some background as to why  we are here now...
     Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in 1991 was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February 1992.  The Bosnian Serbs, supported by neighborning Serbia. responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia."  In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement which created a joint joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosni and Herzegovina. 
      On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife.  The Dayton Peace accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government.  This national level government is charged with overseeing internal functions.  In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement.  IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. 
       SFOR remains in place at a level of approximately 21,000 troops, most of which are U.S. troops, but also Turkish, Russian, Italian, German, Swiss, and others from the international community.
A girl in Kosovo during the war....
We walk past this sign almost every day on our way to the "chow hall"
                                
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