As a Serb I was bracing for antiserbian propaganda but I was pleasantly surprised with the honesty of this man.

Surprising how people can turn evil so quickly true talk 😢

True comment at the end. We do need to realise how much better off some of us are, compared to people in conflict zones. Great talk.

I was in my late teens - early 20’s during the war in Bosnia. I remember it being the main news topic in the UK for a long time but far too complicated to have any real understanding of what was happening. I feel like it was only in the late stages of the war that the genocide came to light. This was in fact when the term “ethnic cleansing” was first coined. Billy didn’t mention it but when talking about how the perpetrators took advantage of the lawlessness and ability to commit crimes of murder etc but also up to 50,000 women and children were raped. I think this would have played a big part in answering the question of what motivated these people to turn on each other.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina theres a saying: "Comrade Tito you died at 305, at 310 we were neck deep in shit." Also flag shown at 31:14 is actually coat of arms of Kotromanic dynasty, medieval bosnian king Tvrtko.

Huge fan of billy top guy ❤

I went to Yugoslavia as a kid before the war. A place called Rabac. It was amazing and a beautiful place. The people were so friendly aswell,I will always remember Marina I think her name was ,who looked after the kids in the hotel. I often wonder what happened to her.🙏

I had just joined my regiment as they were deploying to Bosnia talk about getting in just at the right time for some action and then after that Afghan and Iraq guys before me had nothing to do for nearly 20 years after the Falklands and here's me just joined and getting all the good fun depending on how you look at it I do now suffer with PTSD and anxiety and depression but I think it was worth it especially after 9/11 anyway thanks guys for a great show ❤❤❤🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪🇬🇧✌️

Let's give wider context. Yugoslavia was held together by the force of personality of Josip Broz Tito, with a certain amount of force. At a political level, the West had concerns about what would follow once he died, which happened in 1980. To the south, Albania was at a lower economic level under a rather more brutal dictator, Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985, and beyond that, Greece, under the rule of the Colonels until 1974, so the area was fairly new to de-Balkanised democracy. To the North, the Warsaw Pact was on its last legs, collapsing in 1989. Europe was fully aware of what was going on (I'd personally briefed Wim van Eekelen, WEU's SG, on the Warsaw Pact situation and the role played by Russia's need to finance its military behind that), so the policy of benign non-intervention, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, meant all things would come in good time. So, as Yugoslavia disintegrated, it was useful to refrain from overt intervention, allowing the dust to settle. As it was, Serbia, which considered itself the Orthodox heart of Yugoslavia, felt offended by the breakaway States, and started to become more militaristic about it, which is the point at which Billy picks up. Russia certainly had some political pressure in that, but recovering from the collapse of the USSR, lacked the influence to deliver. The militaristic approach locked the breakaway identities in, until the Kosovo crisis threatened the fragile Albanian economy I'd just restabilised.

At one point, Yugoslavia was the Worlds biggest producer of landmines!

Billy, what was the video you mention at 32:15? or is it book form? TIA

I lived in Serbia from 87 till 97 I was in the Serbian army I had many operations in Serbia security counter reprise missions on Kosovo I respect the sas but there in the zone for a short time maybe three months I was there for the whole time o walk on the street in Australia and I look at a guy and I go he’s in the SAS iota just I suffered hyper alertness

Billy, did you serve with many lads from cumbria.

I was sent to Bosnia in the infantry under the UN the place was a mess but a very beautiful country and it was mined to fuck

if The White Helmets "UN" are involved, Question everything.!

Also UN helped Bosnian orthodox to capture unarmed peaople in Srebrenica, while they got every possible weapons from ex yugoslavia which was 4th military power and they let them do a genocide. Bosnian Muslims had to steal weapons from christians to start defending country, and they did, in 95’ america stoped the attack on christian orthodox in Banja Luka, if they didnt Bosnia would be fully Muslim country today.

Serbs basically went full Machiavellian in order to ethnically cleanse the land of Bosniaks and Croats. There was nothing they wouldn't do to accomplish their goals. Most people killed were Bosniak muslims though.

I live in Dubrovnik,bring Irish naturally interested in the history of former Yugoslavia,many tales in Bosnia and Croatia of cleansing,it was a catastrophic war with no real aid groups intervention from the western world.atrocities everywhere,a friend of mine photographed a lot of the Bosnian front and it was horrendous

Computer age, beep boop, file not found.

The Serbians never forgot, nor forgave, the bosnians for what the did during ww2. They fought with the Nazis and slaughtered Serbian men women and children.