Complex sentence: The Handschar earned a repute for brutality in ridding north-eastern Bosnia of Serbs and partisans: many local Muslims, observing the violence, were driven to go over to the communist partisans.
Split into simpler sentences: The Handschar earned a repute for brutality in ridding north-eastern Bosnia of Serbs and partisans. Many local Muslims, observing the violence, were driven to go over to the communist partisans.