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Dutchbat (short for "Dutch Battalion") was a Dutch battalion under the command of the United Nations in operation UNPROFOR. 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. 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. Dutchbatters klagen de Staat aan om Srebrenica ( Dutch)
Dutchbat was given the mission to execute United Nations Security Council Resolution 819 in the Bosnian Muslim enclave, which was dubbed a "safe area." The Rules of Engagement stated that the peacekeepers could use force for self-defence only, and intervening in the fighting was forbidden to all NATO and UN troops. To counter this, they relied on air support from NATO. In accordance to the resolution phrase 10, it demanded that all parties ensure the safety of the Protection Force, UN personnel and other international organisations. The main force of the Dutchbat was stationed in the Srebrenica enclave.Judgement of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, 6 September 2013, First Chamber, 12/03324 LZ/TT (official English translation). The Dutchbat's zone fell under siege by the Bosnian Serb forces when NATO air forces began bombing besieged Sarajevo.
On 8 July, a Dutch YPR-765 armored vehicle took fire from the Serbs and withdrew. A group of Bosniaks demanded that the armored vehicle stay to defend them, and established a makeshift barricade to prevent its retreat. As the armored vehicle continued to withdraw, a Bosniak farmer who was manning the barricade threw a hand grenade onto it and subsequently killed Dutch soldier Raviv van Renssen. (2008). 9780300135145, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300135145
During the third rotation, Dutchbat III, commanded by Lieutenant colonel Thom Karremans, Mladić's soldiers took the town on 11 July 1995, causing the displacement of many of the city's inhabitants. About 15,000 displaced persons undertook the flight towards Tuzla on foot, but the majority looked for protection from the UN blue helmets in Potočari. Mladić met with Karremans and there it was agreed that the enclaves would be handed over to the VRS. Under the pretext of evacuating the Bosniak population to a sheltered city, most of the women and children were transferred by bus to a zone under Bosnian Serb control. The Serbs assured Karremans that the men would be transferred later. But instead, the Serbs proceeded to massacre Srebrenica's male population of approximately 8,373 Bosniaks of different ages.
On 21 July, with the entire zone already under the control of the VRS, the Dutchbat left the enclave. From July until November 1995, Dutchbat IV served and mainly dealt with refugees at Simin Han near Tuzla. On 25 July 1995, the VRS launched Operation Stupčanica 95, aimed at capturing the Bosnian enclave of Žepa. The commander of the peacekeeping unit though, Mykola Verkhohlyad negotiated with general Mladić to secure the evacuation of civilians from Žepa in a UN convoy. Verkhohlyad did not allow them to be taken over by Mladić forces, which helped rescue over 10,000 Bosniak civilians. After the negotiations, the operation started, and resulted 800 refugees and the deaths of 116 in the takeover.
The report has been referred to by international media. Dutch Government Collapses Over Srebrenica - Stoltenberg har medansvar for Srebrenica The Institute for War and Peace Reporting has labelled the report "controversial".Karen Meirik (6 February 2004), Controversial Srebrenica Report Back on Table, Tribunal Update 342, Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 21 April 2022. On 4 December 2006, Minister of Defence Henk Kamp gave a remembrance insignia to the soldiers of Dutchbat III, i.e. Draaginsigne DBIII. This award was severely criticized by the public as well as by some survivors and relatives of Srebrenica victims. In June 2007 an association of relatives of the victims of the massacre presented a denunciation in The Hague against the Government of the Netherlands and the UN for its negligence in the massacre.
In October of the same year, twelve former members of Dutchbat III visited the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial, paying tribute to the victims. The same group of relatives opposed their act of atonement to open dialogue. According to testimonies of 171 of the members of the battalion, 65% left the Army, 40% of these requested psychological treatment, and 10% show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (official figure; health professionals treating these people deem the number much higher).
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