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UN court rules Serbia did not commit genocide in Croatia

03 February 2015 13:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Rufat Ahmadzada – APA. The UN’s highest court has ruled that neither Croatia nor Serbia committed genocide against each other’s populations during the Balkan wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

Peter Tomka, president of the international court of justice, said crimes had been committed by both countries’ forces during the conflict, but that the intent to commit genocide – by “destroying a population in whole or in part” – had not been proven against either country.

Croatia brought the case to the world court in 1999, asking judges to order Belgrade to pay compensation. In 2012, Serbia filed a counterclaim, alleging genocide by Croat forces during the 1995 "Operation Storm" military campaign.

About 20,000 people died during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia, sparked by Croatia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.