Back الكتيبة الهولندية Arabic Dutchbat German Dutchbat Spanish Dutchbat Dutch Dutchbat Polish Холандски батаљон Serbian
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2013) |
| Dutchbat | |
|---|---|
| 1(NL)VN Infanteriebataljon | |
 | |
| Active | 1994–1995 |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Role | Peacekeeping |
| Size | ~450 |
| Part of |  United Nations |
| Colors | Blue |
| Engagements | Bosnian War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt. Col. Thom Karremans |
Dutchbat (short for "Dutch Battalion") was a Dutch battalion under the command of the United Nations in operation UNPROFOR.[1] It was hastily formed out of the emerging 11th Airmobile Brigade between February 1994 and November 1995 to participate in peacekeeping operations. It was tasked to execute United Nations Security Council Resolution 819 in the Bosnian Muslim enclaves and the designated UN "safe havens" of Srebrenica and Žepa during the Bosnian War.
In July 1995, as the Army of Republika Srpska forces came to take over the enclave, the Dutchbat were vastly outnumbered and were far too lightly equipped to repel the more heavily armed Bosnian Serb troops. It also had its request for air support from UNPROFOR denied. Subsequently, the Bosnian Serb forces led Srebrenica's Bosniak male inhabitants into the mountains, where thousands of them were massacred.[2][3] Despite their efforts to secure peace in the area, the enclave fell into Serb hands. In 2016, several veterans of the battalion, with approval of its commander, sued the Dutch government for "severe negligence and carelessness" regarding the mission.[4]
- ^ Baarda, Ted V. (2006). Military Ethics: The Dutch Approach : a Practical Guide. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 312. ISBN 978-90-04-15440-7.
- ^ "The Dutch peacekeepers still haunted by ghosts of Srebrenica". The Independent. 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2017-11-30.
- ^ "Victims of the Srebrenica Massacre". The Polynational War Memorial. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ Dutchbatters klagen de Staat aan om Srebrenica (Dutch)