Court Rules Against Dutch State On Srebrenica

The supreme court in the Netherlands has ruled the Dutch state can be held responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslims who were expelled by Dutch peacekeepers from a UN compound at Srebrenica in 1995.

The three men at the center of the case were among some 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces under the command of Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic -- Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

The ruling upheld an earlier decision by an appeals court.

It clears the way for relatives of the victims to seek compensation from the Dutch state for their deaths. The ruling also could impact the willingness of countries to participate in future United Nations peacekeeping missions.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa