Foreign support in the Bosnian War  

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Foreign support in the Bosnian War included the funding, training or military support by foreign states and organizations outside Yugoslavia to any of the belligerents in the Bosnian War (1992–95).

Support to Bosnian Muslims

• Iran, a predominantly Shia country, was one of the first Muslim countries to provide support for the Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks, who are mainly Sunni Muslim) in the war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sent more than five (5,000 to 14,000 tons from May 1994 to January 1996 alone<ref>http://markcurtis.info/2016/10/11/a-covert-war-in-bosnia/</ref>) thousand tonnes of arms to the Bosnian Muslims.Template:Sfn IRGC also supplied trainers and advisers for the Bosnian military and intelligence service.Template:Sfn Several dozen Iranian intelligence experts joined the Bosnian Muslim intelligence agency.Template:Sfn The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence-supported mujahideen units trained selected Bosnian army units.Template:Sfn The Hezbollah (Lebanese Shia), supported by Iran, also sent fighters to the war.<ref name=Fisk>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1992, Iran with the help of Turkey smuggled arms to the Bosnian Muslims.Template:Sfn Reports of "hundreds of tons of weapons" shipped from Iran over a period of months appeared in the media in early 1995.Template:Sfn Iranian arms were shipped through Croatia.<ref>Template:Harvnb, Template:Harvnb</ref> Robert Baer, a CIA agent stationed in Sarajevo during the war, later claimed that "In Sarajevo, the Bosnian Muslim government is a client of the Iranians . . . If it's a choice between the CIA and the Iranians, they'll take the Iranians any day." By the war's end, public opinion polls showed some 86% of the Bosnian Muslim population expressed a positive attitude toward Iran.<ref>{{

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}}</ref> According to the scholar Cees Wiebes, during the war “Turkey and Saudi Arabia were very willing to deliver weapons and to lure Alija Izetbegović away from Iran, but the orientation of the Bosnian government was far more towards Iran.”<ref>http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/iran-balkans-history-and-forecast</ref>

• Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) supplied the Bosnian Muslims with arms, ammunition and guided anti-tank missiles. Pakistan defied the UN's ban on supply of arms to the war (declaring it illegal, among other Muslim countries<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) and ISI airlifted anti-tank guided missiles to the Bosnian Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Pakistan financially aided the Bosnian Muslims.Template:Sfn
• Saudi Arabia assisted the Bosnian Muslims with funding, arms and volunteer fighters. Military operations were funded and supported by the Saudi High Commission (SHC), founded by Saudi prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz.<ref name="Newton">Template:Cite book</ref> Saudi Arabia provided $300 million in arms supplies (and $500 in humanitarian aid) to the Bosnian government, in violation to the embargo and with the knowing of the United States.Template:Sfn
• Turkey actively supported the Bosnian Muslims.Template:Sfn It assisted Iran with smuggling arms to the Bosnian Muslims.Template:Sfn The Turkish line included arms and money also from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Brunei and Pakistan.Template:Sfn Turkish private individuals and groups financially supported the Bosnian Muslims, and some hundreds of Turks joined as volunteers.Template:Sfn Greatest private aid came from Islamist groups, such as the Refah Party and IHH.Template:Sfn As a NATO member, Turkey supported and participated in NATO operations, including sending 18 F-16 planes.Template:Sfn It was the first of the member countries to call for military intervention, and backed all US calls for engagement, and strongly supported air strikes.Template:Sfn It has been noted though, that financial aid from the Turkish government was minimal.Template:Sfn
• Malaysia supported the Bosnian Muslims through financial aid and arms.Template:Sfn
• Brunei supported the Bosnian Muslims through financial aid and arms.Template:Sfn It officially supported the Bosnian Muslims and spoke against the Bosnian Serbs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was widely reported that Brunei helped in the purchase and delivery of shipments of small arms.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Sudan financially aided the Bosnian Muslims.<ref name=Hajdinjak/>
• The United States took no actions against the smuggling of arms, of which they knew.Template:Sfn The CIA funded, trained and supplied the Bosnian Army.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> EU intelligence sources suggested that the US organized arms shipments to Bosnia through Muslim allies.Template:Sfn The private military contractor MPRI, approved by the US government, used money provided by pro-Western Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Brunei and Malaysia to equip the Bosnian army with 46,000 rifles, 1,000 machine guns, 80 APCs, 45 tanks, 840 anti-tank guns and 15 helicopters.<ref name="Armstrong2009">Template:Cite book</ref> The MPRI received $300 million to equip and $50 million to train the Bosnian army.<ref name="Armstrong2009"/>
• NATO, headed by the United States, intervened through air operations.

Among foreign Islamist organizations supporting the Bosnian Muslims were Al-Qaeda (including Bosnian branch), Harkat ul-Ansar,<ref name="Curtis2010">Template:Cite book</ref> Refah Party,Template:Sfn Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, and others. Among foreign non-profit organizations and charitable trusts were the Saudi Benevolence International Foundation (Al-Qaeda) and al-Haramain Foundation (Al-Qaeda-associated), the Turkish IHH,Template:Sfn and others. The Third World Relief Agency (TWRA) based in Vienna was the "main financier and mediator" in the arms smuggling.<ref name=Hajdinjak>Template:Cite book</ref> The TWRA received $350 million from deposits by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, Turkey, Brunei, Malaysia and Pakistan.<ref name=Hajdinjak/>

Support to Bosnian Croats

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Support to Bosnian Serbs

• Russia followed Western policy, but had reservations against some policies, such as NATO air strikes, which it believed was beyond UN resolutions.Template:Sfn It tried to moderate anti-Serb decisions in discussions with Western powers.Template:Sfn A number of Russian politicians showed solidarity with the Serbs.Template:Sfn Hundreds of Russians volunteered on the Serb side.<ref name="LukicLynch1996">Template:Cite book</ref>

Foreign fighters

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