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The '''Bijeljina massacre''' involved the killing of civilians by [[Serbs|Serb]] [[paramilitary]] groups in [[Bijeljina]] on 1–2 April 1992 in the run-up to the [[Bosnian War]]. The majority of those killed were [[Bosniaks]] (
In September 1991, [[Bosnian Serbs]] had proclaimed a [[Serbian Autonomous Oblast]] with Bijeljina as its capital. In March 1992, the [[Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum, 1992|Bosnian referendum on independence]] was passed with overwhelming support from Bosniaks and [[Bosnian Croats]], although Bosnian Serbs either boycotted it or were prevented from voting by Bosnian Serb authorities. A poorly organized, local Bosniak [[Patriotic League (Bosnia and Herzegovina)|Patriotic League]] paramilitary group had been established in response to the Bosnian Serb proclamation. On 31 March, the Patriotic League in Bijeljina was provoked into fighting by local Serbs and the SDG. On 1–2 April, the SDG and the JNA took over Bijeljina with little resistance; murders, rapes, house searches, and pillaging followed. These actions were described as [[genocide|genocidal]] by the historian Professor Eric D. Weitz of the [[City College of New York]]. Professor [[Michael Sells]] of the [[University of Chicago]] concluded that they were carried out to erase the cultural history of the Bosniak people of Bijeljina.
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