While the two Empires were facing Confronting_problem enormous internal difficulties , the Serbs took Creating the favorable opportunity to expand Expansion its domain .

During the civil war in Byzantium in 1320s and 1330s , the Serbs conquered Conquering most of the Bulgarian and Aromanian populated Macedonia from the Byzantines .

Estimates of the overall number of Serbs killed Killing from 11–13 May range from 260 to 417 .

Further killings Killing in Glina occurred between 30 July and 3 August of that same year , when 700–2,000 Serbs were massacred Killing by a group of Ustaše led by Vjekoslav Luburić .

The Ustashe regime ( mostly Croats , but also Muslims and others ) committed Commitment genocide against Serbs , Jews , Roma and anti-Fascist Croats .

The Chetniks ( mostly Serbs , but also Montenegrins and others ) pursued genocide against Muslims , Croats and Pro-Partisan Serbs , and the Italian occupation authorities pursued violence Violence and ethnic cleansing ( Italianization ) against Slovenes and Croats .

The Chetniks ( mostly Serbs , but also Montenegrins and others ) pursued genocide against Muslims , Croats and Pro-Partisan Serbs , and the Italian occupation authorities pursued violence Violence and ethnic cleansing ( Italianization ) against Slovenes and Croats .

Hungarian occupation troops massacred Killing civilians ( mostly Serbs and Jews ) during a major raid Attack in southern Bačka , under the pretext of suppressing resistance activities .

Finally , during and after the final stages of the war , Yugoslav authorities and Partisan troops carried out reprisals , including the deportation of the Danube Swabian population , forced Causation marches and executions of thousands of captured soldiers and civilians ( predominantly Croats associated Collaboration with the NDH , but also Slovenes and others ) fleeing Escaping their advance ( the Bleiburg repatriations ) , atrocities against the Italian population in Istria ( the Foibe massacres ) and purges against Serbs , Hungarians and Germans associated Collaboration with the fascist forces .

Several victims Catastrophe were ethnic Serbs suspected Suspicion by the police of collaboration Collaboration with Croatian authorities .

After the war Hostile_encounter , around 200,000 Serbs , Romani and other non-Albanians fled Escaping Kosovo and many of the remaining civilians were victims of abuse Violence .

Members of other ethnicities were also killed Killing , such as Serbs deemed Coming_to_believe disloyal by the local authorities .

In September 1991 , Bosnian Serbs proclaimed Statement a Serbian Autonomous Oblast with Bijeljina as its capital .

In March 1992 , the Bosnian referendum on independence was passed Process_end with overwhelming support Supporting from Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats , although Bosnian Serbs either boycotted Agree_or_refuse_to_act it or were prevented Preventing_or_letting from voting Choosing by Bosnian Serb authorities .

On 31 March , the Patriotic League in Bijeljina was provoked Causation into fighting Hostile_encounter by local Serbs and the SDG .

From 2 May 1992 , the Serbs blockaded Besieging the city .

A majority of Croats wanted Request Croatia to leave Departing Yugoslavia and become Becoming a sovereign country , while many ethnic Serbs living in Croatia , supported Supporting by Serbia , opposed Agree_or_refuse_to_act the secession and wanted Request Serb-claimed lands to be in a common state with Serbia .

Most Serbs sought Statement a new Serb state within a Yugoslav federation Collaboration , including areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with ethnic Serb majorities or significant minorities , and attempted to conquer Conquering as much of Croatia as possible .

The operation formed Creating part of the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War fought Hostile_encounter between Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia and two unrecognized para-states proclaimed by Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs .

The operation formed Creating part of the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War fought Hostile_encounter between Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia and two unrecognized para-states proclaimed by Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs .

The Battle Hostile_encounter of the Barracks was an escalation Preventing_or_letting of the conflict between Croatian authorities and the Croatian Serbs who openly revolted Change_of_leadership in August 1990 and the JNA 's efforts to preserve the Yugoslav federation .

Also , Croatia adopted Choosing discriminatory measures to prevent Preventing_or_letting the return of Serbs .

Initially the Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) sought to preserve Preserving the unity of the whole of Yugoslavia by crushing Destroying the secessionist governments , but it increasingly came under the influence of the Serbian government of Slobodan Milošević , which evoked Causation Serbian nationalist rhetoric and was willing to use Using the Yugoslav cause to preserve Preserving the unity of Serbs in one state .

Soldiers from the army of the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes ( `` later '' Yugoslavia ) , under the command Control of Slovene officer Rudolf Maister , killed Killing between 9 and 13 civilians of German ethnic origin , wounding Bodily_harm a further 60 , during a protest in a city centre square .

Ensuing events also led to Causation the creation of an independent Albania which angered Change_sentiment the Serbs .

On 24 August the Serbs re-entered Motion_directional Šabac , marking Recording the end Process_end of the battle Hostile_encounter .

Afterwards , Croatian soldiers torched many homes belonging to the Serbs who had once inhabited the village .

The Serbs scored Getting a decisive victory Earnings_and_losses against the Ottoman army , employing Employment guerrilla tactics .

The Serbs were left Departing with too few men to effectively defend Defending their lands , while the Turks had many more troops in the east .

The uprising Change_of_leadership was started Process_start by the local population as a response to persecutions of Serbs by the Ustaše and was led by Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans .

Initially , Serbs led by Nikola Skobaljić scored Getting a decisive victory a month earlier near Leskovac , surprising a much larger Ottoman army .

On the Morava River , sultan Mehmed II left Feriz Bey and 32,000 of his troops to resist Defending any possible counterattacks Attack by the Serbs south of Kruševac .

The Serbs did not hesitate to make the first move Self_motion and the two armies met Come_together .

The objectives of Operation Southern Move included Cause_to_be_included the capture of the town of Mrkonjić Grad and positions on the Manjača Mountain which would allow the HV and the HVO to directly threaten Hindering Banja Luka , the largest city controlled by Bosnian Serbs .

The majority of the victims were ethnic Serbs , arrested Arrest in Gospić and the nearby coastal town of Karlobag .

Approximately 25,000 Serbs were killed Killing in the operation , mostly in concentration camps .

In the days after the Yugoslav army withdrew Escaping , over 164,000 Serbs and 24,000 Roma left Departing Kosovo and many of the remaining Presence non-Albanian civilians ( as well as Albanians perceived Perception_active as collaborators Collaboration ) were victims Catastrophe of abuse which included Cause_to_be_included beatings Bodily_harm , abductions Kidnapping and murders Killing .

After Kosovo and other Yugoslav Wars Hostile_encounter , Serbia became Becoming home to the highest number of refugees and IDPs ( including Kosovo Serbs ) in Europe .

It also called Name_conferral on Serbs to stop paying Commerce_pay taxes to the Porte , deemed Coming_to_believe unfair as based on religious affiliation .

The group , largely consisting Cause_to_be_included of Croats but also including Serbs , Hungarians , Muslims and two foreign nationals who fought Quarreling on the side of the Croatian National Guard , was initially transported Sending to the JNA barracks in Vukovar .

The objective Aiming of the offensive was to re-establish Creating a road link between the city of Banja Luka in the west of the country and the eastern parts of the territory controlled Control by the Bosnian Serbs .

The attack was organized Arranging to coincide with the Serbian Orthodox Christmas , leaving the Serbs unprepared for any attack .

Following the Slovenian and Croatian secessions from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991 , the multi-ethnic Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina – which was inhabited Come_together by mainly Muslim Bosniaks ( 44 percent ) , as well as Orthodox Serbs ( 32.5 percent ) and Catholic Croats ( 17 percent ) – passed a referendum Request for independence on 29 February 1992 .

This was rejected Agree_or_refuse_to_act by the political representatives of the Bosnian Serbs , who had boycotted Agree_or_refuse_to_act the referendum .

Following Bosnia and Herzegovina 's declaration Expressing_publicly of independence ( which gained international recognition ) , the Bosnian Serbs , led by Radovan Karadžić and supported by the Serbian government of Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) , mobilised Arranging their forces inside Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to secure Getting ethnic Serb territory , then war soon spread Dispersal across the country , accompanied by ethnic cleansing .

The Serbs , although initially militarily superior due to the weapons and resources provided Supply by the JNA , eventually lost Earnings_and_losses momentum as the Bosniaks and Croats allied Collaboration themselves against the Republika Srpska in 1994 with the creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Washington agreement .

By early 2008 , the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had convicted Legal_rulings 45 Serbs , 12 Croats and 4 Bosniaks of war crimes in connection with the war Military_operation in Bosnia .

The Serbs then entered Arriving Bitola on the19th November .

With the conquest of Bitola the Serbs controlled Control southwestern Macedonia , including the symbolically important town of Ohrid .