Serbia's parliament has passed a landmark¹ resolution offering an apology for the Srebrenica massacre² in 1995 - the worst incident of the Bosnian War.

塞尔维亚国会通过一项划时代的决议，对波斯尼亚战争中最恶劣的事件——1995年斯雷布雷尼察屠杀表示歉意。

Several mass graves have been discovered near Srebrenica

The resolution says Serbia should have done more to prevent the tragedy. It was approved by a narrow majority.

However it stopped short of（决定不做某事，未达到） calling the killings⁴ a genocide.

The killing³ of nearly 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) was carried out by Bosnian Serb forces - allies of then-Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

Meanwhile, a Dutch court has rejected an attempt to hold the United Nations responsible for the massacre.

Burden 'lifted'

The resolution was approved after almost 13 hours of heated negotiations⁵ in the Belgrade parliament.

The pro-Western governing coalition⁶（联合，结合） managed to pass the resolution with a slim majority - 127 MPs voted in favour, out of a total of 250. Only 173 were present for the vote.

"The parliament of Serbia strongly condemns⁷ the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995," the text says.

It formally extends "condolences（哀悼，慰问） and an apology to the families of the victims because not everything was done to prevent the tragedy".

The head of the governing coalition's parliamentary group said during the debate that approval would help close a tragic⁸ chapter in Balkan history.

"Condemning⁹ the crime against the Bosniaks of Srebrenica, while paying respect to the innocent victims and offering condolences to their families, will lift the burden off future generations," Nada Kolundzija was quoted as saying by Serbia's B92 website.

But opposition¹⁰ deputies criticised the text, describing it as "shameful¹¹" for Serbia. Some nationalist politicians voted against, while others abstained¹²（放弃，自制） in protest.

Velimir Ilic, an opposition MP, said: "Why do you want to put a mark on the future generations that they will never wash away（洗掉，忘却） ?"

Serbian nationalists had argued that any resolution must also denounce（谴责，告发） crimes committed by Bosniaks and Croats during the 1992-95 war.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Belgrade says the resolution comes after years of denial in Serbia that the Srebrenica massacre even took place.

The resolution has been criticised by Bosniaks and Muslims in Serbia because it does not describe the Srebrenica massacre as an act of genocide.

It has been recognised as such by the UN war crimes tribunal（法庭，裁决） in The Hague.

Several Bosnian Serbs have been convicted over their role in the massacre, when Bosniak men and boys were taken from their families and shot dead. The town had been designated a UN "safe haven¹³" under the protection of Dutch UN troops.

The wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic, is currently on trial in The Hague. The general accused of masterminding（策划） the killings, Ratko Mladic, is still on the run.

Lawyers for the victims' relatives have tried to hold the Dutch government and the UN accountable for（对……负责） failing to stop the massacre.

But on Tuesday, The Hague Appeals Court upheld a 2008 lower court ruling affirming UN immunity¹⁴（免疫力，豁免） from prosecution¹⁵, which it said was essential for it to be able to carry out its duties around the world.