The vote was broadcast on live television and ending after midnight Serbia's parliament has passed a landmark resolution offering an apology for the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 - the worst incident of the Bosnian War. The resolution says Serbia should have done more to prevent the tragedy. It was approved by a narrow majority. However it stopped short of calling the killings a genocide. The killing 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 negotiations in the Belgrade parliament. AT THE SCENE Mark Lowen, BBC News, Belgrade It was passed with a majority of just two - highlighting how divisive the Srebrenica massacre remains in Serbia almost 15 years on. The governing Democratic Party believes this resolution will go some way towards rebuilding Serbia's image as it strives for EU membership. But for nationalists, the text reiterates what they see as an unfair demonisation of Serbs. Survivors of Srebrenica say that real reconciliation can only be achieved if the fugitive general Ratko Mladic is finally apprehended. The pro-Western governing coalition 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 condemns the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995," the text says. It formally extends "condolences 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 tragic chapter in Balkan history. "Condemning 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 opposition deputies criticised the text, describing it as "shameful" for Serbia. Some nationalist politicians voted against, while others abstained 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?" Serbian nationalists had argued that any resolution must also denounce crimes committed by Bosniaks and Croats during the 1992-95 war. Several mass graves have been discovered near Srebrenica 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 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 haven" 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 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 failing to stop the massacre. But on Tuesday, The Hague Appeals Court upheld a 2008 lower court ruling affirming UN immunity from prosecution, which it said was essential for it to be able to carry out its duties around the world.
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Srebrenica Potocari Memorial
Serbia's parliament has approved a landmark resolution condemning the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb troops. This tragedy is considered the worst atrocity carried out in Europe since the Second World War and a symbol of the brutality of the 1992–95 Balkan wars.

After thirteen hours of debate, 127 of the 250 Serbia's parliament lawmakers voted to pass the landmark resolution; only 173 were present. "The parliament of Serbia strongly condemns the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995", says the resolution. Also, the text apologises to the families of the victims "because not everything possible was done to prevent the tragedy".

But yesterday, Serbia showed the world how deeply divided it was. Democrats and Socialists, the pro-Western ruling coalition, voted in favor of the resolution because they want to bring Serbia closer to its goal of becoming a member of the European Union. The nationalist opposition, on the other hand, voted against it, saying that war crimes were made against Bosnian Serbs as well. Serb Muslim lawmakers were not satisfied with the text because it doesn't use the word "genocide", despite the term's use by the European Union and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
 
The former Serb Bosnian leader Radovan Karadžić is currently on trial in the UN court. The general who commanded the Serb soldiers in Srebrenica massacre, Ratko Mladić, is still on the run. Slobodan Milošević, president of Serbia during the Balkan wars, was found dead in his cell four years ago.