Many of the refugees know that they may never again see their houses and farms. July - a Croat offensive is having some success against rebel Serbs in the Krajina region of Croatia and in Bosnia itself. Now the Croats are taking their revenge, and have taken several Serb-held towns. The escalation has forced the Bosnian Serb army to stop its vigorous assault on the Bihac enclave. In Tuzla, Muslim and Croat refugees from Srebrenica are living in makeshift camps, having lost their homes to the Serb advance.
Families grieve over their menfolk, whom they believe to be dead or in Serb hands.
While the expulsions from Zepa were not thought to be accompanied by significant Serb atrocities, there is deep sadness at the destruction of a centuries-old community and culture. Three weeks ago the apparent military stalemate between the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian Government came to a sudden end. Its commander, General Mladic, claimed that they were being used by the Muslims as a base for 'terrorist' operations. The claim apparently had some justification - in June Bosnian Muslim soldiers operating from Srebrenica massacred the villagers of nearby Visnijca. However, for the Serbs there was more at stake.