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a mountainous republic of south-central Europe; formerly part of the Ottoman Empire and Yugoslavia; voted for independence in 1992 but the mostly Serbian army of Yugoslavia refused to accept the vote and began `ethnic cleansing' to rid Bosnia of Croats and Muslims

A country of eastern Europe, formerly the province of Bosnia in Yugoslavia, uniting with the province of Herzegovina to form the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1946. It was created 7 April 1992 as a result of the division of Yugoslavia and recognized by the United States as an independent state. Bosnia takes is name from the river Bosna, in turn from the Indoeuropean root bhog, "current"; Herzegovina is from the Serbian herceg (duke) + -ov (the possessive) + -ina (country or territory).