The top U.N. court ruled Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia committed genocide during the 1990s Balkan wars, when Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia.
According to a ruling read by Judge Peter Tomka of the International Court of Justice, many crimes had been committed by the two countries' forces but both sides failed to prove the other committed genocide during the conflict, which killed over 20,000 people.
Croatia accused Serbia of committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in the city of Vukovar and other areas in 1991. Serbia later filed a counter suit over the expulsion of Serbs from Croatia in 1995.
Both countries have said they will accept the ruling of the ICJ, which is meant to settle disputes between states. But there is concern that the ruling may spark political tensions.