Atif Dudakovic
Encyclopedia
Atif Dudaković is a former general
in the Bosnian army, commanding the army's Fifth Corps before becoming the general commander of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
army. During the Bosnian War
Dudaković was in command of the Bihać
enclave that was totally surrounded by Bosnian Serb, Serbian Krajina and renegade Bosniak
forces of Fikret Abdić
from 1991 to 1995.
Since 2005 he has been under investigation for war crimes allegedly committed against ethnic Serbs in 1995. In 2010, he has joined the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
of Haris Silajdžić
.
(JNA), teaching at an artillery school in Zadar
and a military academy in Belgrade
. At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence
he served as the artillery superintendent of the 9th Corps of the JNA with headquarters in Knin
, and was directly subordinated to the Serb General Ratko Mladić
. At this point he left the federal army.
After the outbreak of the war in Bosnia, Dudaković joined the newly established Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(ARBiH). Eventually he became commander of the 5th Corps, defending Bihać
. The situation there was difficult as Bihać was surrounded on all sides by enemies of the ARBiH: by the Army of Republika Srpska
; by Republic of Serb Krajina; and by forces of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. The 5th Corps successfully defended the enclave and in 1995 broke out from the encirclement
and captured the towns of Bosanski Petrovac
, Bosanska Krupa
, Ključ
, Sanski Most
and were on the verge of entering Prijedor
and Banja Luka
before the United States
forced an end to the war.
After the war he continued to serve in the Bosnian army, holding the top positions of Deputy Chief of Joint General Staff of Army of Federation and Commander of Joint Command of Army of Federation.
in 1995, in front of cameras, Dudaković gave an order to burn Serb villages in southern Bosnian Frontier. The media claimed that Dudakovics command of "pali" (fire, shoot, burn) meant to set on fire as in burn homes of fleeing Krajina Serb refugees, where as Dudaković himself said that as an artillery officer, he was simply giving orders to his men to fire solely. After the video was released Dudaković gave a statement saying:
ARBiH
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the Bosnian army, commanding the army's Fifth Corps before becoming the general commander of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
army. During the 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...
Dudaković was in command of the Bihać
Bihac
Bihać is a city and municipality on the river Una in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. Bihać is located in the Una-Sana Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
enclave that was totally surrounded by Bosnian Serb, Serbian Krajina and renegade Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
forces of Fikret Abdić
Fikret Abdic
Fikret Abdić is a politician and businessman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks in the region of Velika Kladuša....
from 1991 to 1995.
Since 2005 he has been under investigation for war crimes allegedly committed against ethnic Serbs in 1995. In 2010, he has joined the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina is a liberal conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Haris Silajdžić. On the issues of the internal divisions of Bosnia, SBiH wants to eliminate two entities, and establish a "one man-one vote political system" in an unified...
of Haris Silajdžić
Haris Silajdžic
Haris Silajdžić is a Bosnian politician and academic. In the 2006 elections, Silajdžić was elected as the Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for four years in the rotating presidency.He was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia.- Political career:From 1990...
.
Biography
Dudaković had served in the Yugoslav People's ArmyYugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA), teaching at an artillery school in Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
and a military academy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
he served as the artillery superintendent of the 9th Corps of the JNA with headquarters in Knin
Knin
Knin is a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. Knin rose to prominence twice in history, as a one-time capital of both the Kingdom of Croatia and briefly of the...
, and was directly subordinated to the Serb General Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
. At this point he left the federal army.
After the outbreak of the war in Bosnia, Dudaković joined the newly established Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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). Eventually he became commander of the 5th Corps, defending Bihać
Siege of Bihać
The Bihać area was the scene of fierce fighting during the Bosnian War. It involved the Bosnian government army in Bihać on one side and Serb forces on the other side, who surrounded the area in a double siege – from the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina on the north-west to the Army of...
. The situation there was difficult as Bihać was surrounded on all sides by enemies of the ARBiH: by the Army of Republika Srpska
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
; by Republic of Serb Krajina; and by forces of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. The 5th Corps successfully defended the enclave and in 1995 broke out from the encirclement
Encirclement
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
and captured the towns of Bosanski Petrovac
Bosanski Petrovac
Bosanski Petrovac is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also the name of the municipality. The town and municipality are part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Una-Sana Canton.-People:...
, Bosanska Krupa
Bosanska Krupa
Bosanska Krupa is a town and municipality in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Una river. It is located northeast from Bihać...
, Ključ
Kljuc
Ključ is a town and municipality by the same name in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically the Una-Sana Canton. The name of the town and the municipality translates to "Key" in Bosnian....
, Sanski Most
Sanski Most
Sanski Most is a town and municipality in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the Sana River in Bosanska Krajina, between Prijedor and Ključ. Administratively it is part of the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
and were on the verge of entering Prijedor
Prijedor
Prijedor is a city and municipality in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Bosanska Krajina region....
and Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
before the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forced an end to the war.
After the war he continued to serve in the Bosnian army, holding the top positions of Deputy Chief of Joint General Staff of Army of Federation and Commander of Joint Command of Army of Federation.
Controversy
In September 2006, the Serbian media reported that during Operation SanaOperation Sana
Operation Sana was the last military operation undertaken by the Bosnian Army during the Bosnian War. It was undertaken in October 1995, in the series of general counteroffensives by Bosnian and Croatian forces following Operation Storm...
in 1995, in front of cameras, Dudaković gave an order to burn Serb villages in southern Bosnian Frontier. The media claimed that Dudakovics command of "pali" (fire, shoot, burn) meant to set on fire as in burn homes of fleeing Krajina Serb refugees, where as Dudaković himself said that as an artillery officer, he was simply giving orders to his men to fire solely. After the video was released Dudaković gave a statement saying:
Military ranks
JNAYugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
- MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
(1988)
ARBiH
- BrigadierBrigadierBrigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
- Brigadier GeneralBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
(21 August 1994) - Division GeneralDivision GeneralDivision General was a military rank in the Bosnian army from 1992 to 1998.See also: Divisional General...
(7 August 1995) - Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....