Dutchbat

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Dutchbat
1(NL)VN Infanteriebataljon
Active	1994–1995
Country	Netherlands
Role	Peacekeeping
Size	~450
Part of	United Nations
Colors	Blue
Engagements	Bosnian War Siege of Srebrenica
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 to which the 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]