Army of Republika Srpska
The
Army of the Republika Srpska (
Serbian:
'ојска Републике Српске ('РС);
Bosnian,
Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske (VRS)) also referred to as
Bosnian Serb Army, was the
military of the
Republika Srpska. In
2005 it was integrated into
Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by the
Ministry of Defense of
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It was founded in
1992 from the forces of the old
Yugoslav People's Army, the army of former
Communist Yugoslavia from which
Bosnia and Herzegovina had seceded the same year. The army counted some 80,000 personnel during the
Bosnian War (1992-
1995).
The VRS was made up almost entirely of
Serb Orthodox officers and recruits from Bosnia-Herzegovina and
Serbia and Montenegro. The army formations that fought for Republika Srpska also included various
Serb paramilitary units, as well as
Russian,
Greek,
Japanese and other
volunteers fighting for Serb cause. There were also a few
Muslims, mostly from the area of
Teslić and
Derventa (major
Ismet Đuherić and
Meša Selimović brigade) in the north of the country.
The VRS is one of a number of groups that have been accused of
war crimes in Bosnia against
Bosniaks and
Bosnian Croats. The military leader of VRS was general
Ratko Mladić, who is now indicted at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of
genocide, as are other high-ranking Serb officers, but has not been yet apprehended.
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Army of Republic of Srpska/Vojska Republike Srpske*
Badges and patches*
ICTY indictment against Ratko Mladić*
Bosnia's first unified army platoon deployed to Iraq
