Relatives of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre victims have opened a civil suit against the Dutch government, saying Dutch peacekeepers failed to prevent the killings.
Lawyers for the relatives told the court on April 7 that the Dutch government put the safety of its own troops ahead of that of Bosnian Muslims during the July, 1995, massacre.
The government has rejected that charge, saying it had no official control of its troops because they were taking part in a United Nations peacekeeping mission during the Bosnian war.
Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed and their bodies dumped in mass graves by Bosnian Serb forces in Europe's worst bloodshed since World War II.
It's the last legal avenue for the relatives, after Dutch judges had thrown out their previous attempts to sue the UN saying the world body has legal immunity.
Lawyers for the relatives told the court on April 7 that the Dutch government put the safety of its own troops ahead of that of Bosnian Muslims during the July, 1995, massacre.
The government has rejected that charge, saying it had no official control of its troops because they were taking part in a United Nations peacekeeping mission during the Bosnian war.
Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed and their bodies dumped in mass graves by Bosnian Serb forces in Europe's worst bloodshed since World War II.
It's the last legal avenue for the relatives, after Dutch judges had thrown out their previous attempts to sue the UN saying the world body has legal immunity.
