The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, The Hague

A Dutch court began hearings Wednesday about whether survivors of a 1995 massacre of Muslims in Bosnia - Europe's worst mass killing since World War II - can sue the United Nations for failing to prevent the slaughter.

Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslims in one week in July 1995, overrunning the Srebrenica enclave declared a U.N. safe zone. Dutch peacekeepers overwhelmed by the Serbs' superior force watched helplessly as the male victims were led away from their custody for execution.

The Mothers of Srebrenica, survivors of the men and boys killed in 1995, are among those seeking compensation from the U.N. and the Dutch state in the civil lawsuit.