After the war between the Croatian Serbs and Croatia ended in 1992 with the signing of a cease-fire agreement, the United Nations (UN) sent a peacekeeping operation to enforce peace in the area. This was a traditional UN peacekeeping operation that was designed to enforce a peace already established between parties who wanted to stop fighting. The UN operation was a neutral force charged with overseeing the cease-fire both sides had agreed to. This peacekeeping force was not originally slated to get involved in the war in Bosnia, but as fighting heated up in the newly independent state, UN forces stepped in.

Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic had asked for UN protection immediately following Bosnia's declaration of independence in March 1992. The president feared reprisals from the Bosnian Serbs and Croats who might protest domination by Bosnia's Muslim majority. However, UN officials declined to help, arguing that...