Prijedor was the site of numerous war crimes against Bosniak civilians by Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. The massacre claimed 5,209 Bosniaks and Croats, including 4,093 civilians.
On May 31, 1992, the Serbian administration in Prijedor required the non-Serb population to wear white stripes on their arms when they leave their homes -- an order that was followed by extermination, murder, and persecution.
Most of the killings took place from May to August 1992.
Between April 1992 and December 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed and 2.2 million others were displaced in Bosnia. As many as 50,000 women, mostly Bosniaks, were raped.
The Bosnian War was sparked by the break-up of Yugoslavia, which led Bosnia to declare independence in February 1992.
Its capital, Sarajevo, came under the attack of Bosnian Serb militias, backed by the Yugoslav army, in what became the longest siege in modern history, lasting nearly four years.
