In the second trial of its kind, three former officers in the Bosnian Serb Army appeared before the War Crimes Tribunal in the Netherlands, charged with organizing the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.

Vidoje Blagojevic, Dragan Obrenovic, and Dragan Jokic, were commanders in the Bosnian Serb Army during the five-year conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Prosecutors at the tribunal, set up by the United Nations to prosecute war crimes committed during the conflict, believe the three commanders were involved in separating the men and boys from their families. They have been charged with counts of crimes against humanity, genocide and violations of the laws or customs of war.

In all, more than 8,000 men and boys were butchered by the Bosnian Serb Army and buried in mass graves in July 1995, as the Dutch Army, which had only 110 lightly-armed troops protecting Srebrenica, a so-called United Nations "safe zone", failed to intervene. In April 2002, after a damning report revealed the Dutch government sent the peacekeepers on a "mission impossible," the entire Dutch cabinet resigned.

Chief Prosecutor Peter McCloskey called the massacre a "disgrace of humankind," during his opening arguments on Wednesday.

Former officer will testify against them

The three officers will face testimony of one of their own. Intelligence officer Momir Nikolic, an officer in the brigade at Srebrenica, surprised the court last week by admitting his guilt.

Prosecutors plan to use him to testify against the three. In exchange, the former teacher has plead guilty to one count of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors have sugested he receive a 15 to 20 year sentence for his role in the incident.

The ex-General Radislav Krstic, who commanded the Drina Corps that the four soldiers belonged to, was sentenced to 46 years in prison in 2001. The two top commanders, the two most wanted by the UN Tribunal, remain at large.

Despite repeated recent attempts by NATO troops stationed in the region to catch them, former political leader of the Serbs Radovan Karadzic and military commander Ratko Mladik remain at large.