More than four years of war have turned once-beautiful
Yugoslavia into a living nightmare, and into one of the
bloodiest battlefields in Europe's recent history. We see the
images -- refugees bearing children and suitcases, war-wearied
elderly women, crying soldiers. But many of us don't understand
exactly how the turmoil began. Here's a brief look. The
rivalries between Serb, Croat and Muslim communities in
Yugoslavia date back centuries. Created in the aftermath of
World War I, the country was first known as the Kingdom of
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The name Yugoslavia was adopted in
1929. During World War II, Croats joined the Nazis in
exterminating Serbs and others. The Serbs took up arms -- and
hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed on
both sides. Josip Broz Tito, a partisan leader, led the
resistance against the Nazis, ultimately driving them from
Yugoslavia. Following the war, Tito was elected to lead the
newly created Yugoslav Federation. Tito ruled with an iron fist,
keeping eth