The Republika Srpska is an autonomous entity of northern and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, proclaimed on 9 January 1992. The republic was proclaimed by ethnic Serb leaders in the Orthodox Christian Serb areas of Bosnia when the country proclaimed its independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. The republic fought against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War, with President Radovan Karadzic siding with the Yugoslavian government in hopes of creating a Serbian republic within Bosnia. During the war, the Republika Srpska forces carried out ethnic cleansing operations against the Muslim Bosniaks, including the infamous Srebrenica massacre. The republic's existence was confirmed by the Dayton Accords of 1995, being recognized as an autonomous entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 December 1995. In 2013, Republika Srpska had a population of 1,326,991 people, with 82.95% being Orthodox Christian Serbs, 12.69% Muslim Bosniaks, 2.27% Catholic Croats, and 1.42% other ethnic groups. Banja Luka served as the de facto capital.
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