7th Muslim Brigade
Encyclopedia
The 7th Muslim Brigade was a brigade in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(ARBiH). It was often misinterpreted by Serb and Croat media, which confused it with the squad of Arab volunteers known as El-Mudžahid
- foreign fighters from various Islamic countries that fought during the 1992-95 Bosnian War
. The 7th brigade had over 1,000 local soldiers and was a part of the 3rd Corps of the Bosnian Army, while El-Mudžahid was an independent detachment.
, the soldiers of which were located on the plateau of Vlasic. These men, all Bosniak Muslims, insisted that the unit be formally titled Muslim. The Brigade belonged to the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
At its creation Lieutenant Colonel Enver Hadžihasanović
, as Commander of the 3rd Corps, decided to appoint the following men to command the unit:
On 12 March 1993 General Sefer Halilović
appointed Asim Koričić to command the unit, although Amir Kubura in fact becomes the de facto leader of military operations. Amir Kubura was formally appointed commander on 6 August 1993.
The Command and Brigade headquarters was located in Bilmišće, Zenica
. The 1st Battalion was headquartered in Travnik
. Each battalion had four companies and the total number of troops was about 1,500. The 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade sported a distinctly Islam
ic army uniform badge featuring Arabic lettering which alarmed and confused outside observers.
, Bosnia-Herzegovina
received humanitarian aid from Islamic countries as well as from the West, because of intensive and widespread killing, mass rapes, death camps, ethnic cleansing
committed by Serb and, to a lesser extent, Croat forces. The main targets were Bosnian Muslim civilians. The International Court of Justice
concluded that these crimes, committed during the 1992 -95 war, were crimes against humanity and genocide
(dolus specialis) regarding Srebrenica
region according to the Genocide Convention. Following such massacres, Arab volunteers came across Croatia
into Bosnia to help the Bosnian Army protect the Bosnian Muslim civilian population. The number of the El-Mudžahid volunteers is still disputed, from around 300 to 1,500. These caused particular controversy: foreign fighters, styling themselves mujahiddin, turned up in Bosnia around 1993 with Croatian identity documents and passports. They quickly attracted heavy criticism, who considered their presence to be evidence of violent Islamic fundamentalism at the heart of Europe. However, the foreign volunteers became unpopular even with many of the Bosniak population, because the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had thousands of troops and had no need for more soldiers, but for arms. Many Bosnian Army officers and intellectuals were suspicious regarding foreign volunteers arrival in central part of the country, because they came from Split
and Zagreb
in Croatia, and were passed through the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia without problems unlike Bosnian Army soldiers who were regularly arrested by Croat forces. According to general Stjepan Šiber
, the highest-ranking ethnic Croat in Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by Franjo Tuđman and Croatian counter-intelligence
underground with the aim to justify involvement of Croatia in Bosnian War and mass crimes committed by Croat forces. Although Izetbegović regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability. According to Predrag Matvejević
, a notable Italian and Croatian modern prosaist who analyzed the situation, the number of Arab volunteers who came to help the Bosnian Muslims, "was much smaller than the number presented by Serb and Croat propaganda".
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina established by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 following the outbreak of the Bosnian War...
(ARBiH). It was often misinterpreted by Serb and Croat media, which confused it with the squad of Arab volunteers known as El-Mudžahid
Bosnian mujahideen
Bosnian mujahideen were foreign Muslim volunteers who fought on the side of Bosnian Muslims during the 1992–1995 Bosnian war. They arrived in Bosnia with the aim of fighting for Islam and on behalf of Muslims who were at the time brutally attacked by Serbs and Croats in different parts of the...
- foreign fighters from various Islamic countries that fought during the 1992-95 Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
. The 7th brigade had over 1,000 local soldiers and was a part of the 3rd Corps of the Bosnian Army, while El-Mudžahid was an independent detachment.
Background
The Seventh Muslim Mountain Brigade (7.muslimanska brdska brigada) was established on 18 December 1992 at the proposal by staff of the provisional Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in ZenicaZenica
Zenica is an industrial city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the capital of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
, the soldiers of which were located on the plateau of Vlasic. These men, all Bosniak Muslims, insisted that the unit be formally titled Muslim. The Brigade belonged to the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 3rd corps of the Bosnian Army was one of five, later seven. It was established by the order of the Commander of Main Staff of the Bosnian Army Sefer Halilović on 9 November 1992...
.
At its creation Lieutenant Colonel Enver Hadžihasanović
Enver Hadžihasanovic
Enver Hadžihasanović was a general of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as chief of staff.-Military History:...
, as Commander of the 3rd Corps, decided to appoint the following men to command the unit:
- Commandant: Mahmut Karalić
- Chief of Staff: Asim Koričić
- Assistant Chief for Operational and curricula: Amir Kubura
On 12 March 1993 General Sefer Halilović
Sefer Halilovic
Sefer Halilović is a former general and commanding officer of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2001, he was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and eventually acquitted...
appointed Asim Koričić to command the unit, although Amir Kubura in fact becomes the de facto leader of military operations. Amir Kubura was formally appointed commander on 6 August 1993.
The Command and Brigade headquarters was located in Bilmišće, Zenica
Zenica
Zenica is an industrial city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the capital of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
. The 1st Battalion was headquartered in Travnik
Travnik
Travnik is a city and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, 90 km west of Sarajevo. It is the capital of the Central Bosnia Canton, and is located in the Travnik Municipality. Travnik today has some 27,000 residents, with a metro population that is probably close to 70,000 people...
. Each battalion had four companies and the total number of troops was about 1,500. The 7th Muslim Mountain Brigade sported a distinctly Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic army uniform badge featuring Arabic lettering which alarmed and confused outside observers.
Bosnian Mujahideen confusion
During the Yugoslav warsYugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
received humanitarian aid from Islamic countries as well as from the West, because of intensive and widespread killing, mass rapes, death camps, ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
committed by Serb and, to a lesser extent, Croat forces. The main targets were Bosnian Muslim civilians. The International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
concluded that these crimes, committed during the 1992 -95 war, were crimes against humanity and genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
(dolus specialis) regarding Srebrenica
Srebrenica
Srebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, the town was the site of the July 1995 massacre,...
region according to the Genocide Convention. Following such massacres, Arab volunteers came across Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
into Bosnia to help the Bosnian Army protect the Bosnian Muslim civilian population. The number of the El-Mudžahid volunteers is still disputed, from around 300 to 1,500. These caused particular controversy: foreign fighters, styling themselves mujahiddin, turned up in Bosnia around 1993 with Croatian identity documents and passports. They quickly attracted heavy criticism, who considered their presence to be evidence of violent Islamic fundamentalism at the heart of Europe. However, the foreign volunteers became unpopular even with many of the Bosniak population, because the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had thousands of troops and had no need for more soldiers, but for arms. Many Bosnian Army officers and intellectuals were suspicious regarding foreign volunteers arrival in central part of the country, because they came from Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
and Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
in Croatia, and were passed through the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia without problems unlike Bosnian Army soldiers who were regularly arrested by Croat forces. According to general Stjepan Šiber
Stjepan Šiber
Stjepan Šiber was a war time general of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. After finishing high school in Gradacac, he went to Ljubljana where he finished schooling at the military academy. Afterward, he became an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army. By 1992, he had become a...
, the highest-ranking ethnic Croat in Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by Franjo Tuđman and Croatian counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
underground with the aim to justify involvement of Croatia in Bosnian War and mass crimes committed by Croat forces. Although Izetbegović regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability. According to Predrag Matvejević
Predrag Matvejevic
Predrag Matvejević is a Croatian writer known for his writing as well as for his political activism. His book Mediterranean Breviary: A Cultural Landscape has been a bestseller in many European countries, and has been translated into more than 20 languages.-Biography:Predrag Matvejević was born in...
, a notable Italian and Croatian modern prosaist who analyzed the situation, the number of Arab volunteers who came to help the Bosnian Muslims, "was much smaller than the number presented by Serb and Croat propaganda".
External links
- Radio Free Europe (Vlado Azinović): Dolazak stranih mudžahedina u BiH
- Radio Free Europe (Vlado Azinović): Strani mudžahedini i Armija Bosne i Hercegovine
- Sažetak presude u Predmetu Hadžihasanović i Kubura
- "'Brutal crimes' of Bosnia Muslims", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 2 December 2003