Landmark ruling puts Netherlands in dock

FACED with several lawsuits in recent years over the massacre, the Netherlands government has insisted its troops were abandoned by the United Nations, which provided no air support to the lightly armed Dutch soldiers, who were faced with well-equipped Bosnian Serbs.

Like other Nato alliance members which committed troops to Bosnia during the war under the banner of a UN Protection Force, Dutch hands were tied by a "dual-key" UN mandate that effectively prohibited armed intervention in the conflict.

A case launched by the campaign group, Mothers of Srebrenica, against the Dutch state is now before the Supreme Court, where lawyers are seeking a referral to the European Court of Justice to also challenge the immunity of the United Nations.

Axel Hagedorn, a Dutch lawyer for the Mothers of Srebrenica, said although yesterday's ruling was of "limited scope", it may assist his case when discussing the deaths of other people who had been at the Dutch base, but it could take many years to conclude the case.