| Army of the Republika Srpska Војска Републике Српске (ВРС) Vojska Republike Srpske (VRS) |
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|---|---|
| Active | 1992–2006 |
| Garrison/HQ | Banja Luka, Republika Srpska |
| Anniversaries | 1992 founded, 2005 reorganisation, |
| Engagements | Bosnian War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Ratko Mladić - 1992-1996[1] |
The Army of the Republika Srpska (Serbian: Војска Републике Српске (ВРС); Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske (VRS)) also referred to as Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of the Republika Srpska. Starting in 2003 the army began to integrate into the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2005 a fully integrated unit of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats was deployed to help out the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq[2]. On June 6, 2006 it was fully integrated into Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina controlled by the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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It was founded on May 12, 1992 from the army of former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from which Bosnia and Herzegovina had seceded the same year. The army counted some 80,000 personnel during the Bosnian War (1992-1995).
The VRS was made up almost entirely of Serb Orthodox officers and recruits from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The army formations that fought for Republika Srpska also included various Serb paramilitary units, as well as Russian, and other volunteers fighting for the Serb participated in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. There were also a few Bosniaks, mostly from the area of Teslić and Derventa (major Ismet Đuherić and his Meša Selimović company[citation needed] consisted of 120 men including Serbs and Croats) in the north of the country.
The VRS has been designated by the International Court of Justice in the Hague as the institution that participated in the commission of war crimes and genocide in Bosnia against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats. The military leader of VRS was General Ratko Mladić, who is now indicted at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide, as are other high-ranking Serb officers, but has not yet been apprehended.
 M-84 MBT of VRS. |
 Bosnian Serb army T-55 tank |
 M-77 Oganj MLRs of VRS |
Commonly know with is old name of Ratno Vazduhoplovstva i Protivvazdušna Odbrana Vojska Republike Srpske or with its short version of RV i PVO RS, Since June 1, 2004 the Republika Srpska Air Force is officially called:
1[3] Puk Vazduhoplovstva i protivvazdušna odbrana Vojske Republike Srpske or V i PVO VRS
1st Aviation Regiment and Air Defence Force of the Republic of Srpska's Army.
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