Croat-Bosniak war
Encyclopedia
The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia supported by the Republic of Croatia, that lasted from June 19, 1992 – February 23, 1994. The ICTY effectively determined the war's nature to be international between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders. The Croat-Bosniak war is often referred to as the war in a war because it was part of the larger Bosnian War
.
There are no precise statistics dealing with the casualties of the Croat-Bosniak conflict along ethnic lines. The Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center's (IDC) data from 2007 on human losses in the regions caught in the Croat-Bosniak conflict as part of the wider Bosnian War, however, can serve as a rough approximation
. According to this data, in Central Bosnia most of the 10,448 documented casualties (soldiers and civilians) were Bosniaks
(62%), with Croats
in second (24%) and Serbs
(13%) in third place. The municipalities of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Bugojno
also geographically located in Central Bosnia (known as Gornje Povrbasje region), with the 1,337 documented casualties are not included in Central Bosnia statistics, but in Vrbas
region statistics. Approximately 70-80% of the casualties from Gornje Povrbasje were Bosniaks. In the region of Neretva
river of 6,717 casualties, 54% were Bosniaks, 24% Serbs and 21% Croats. The casualties in those regions were mostly but not exclusively the consequence of Croat-Bosniak conflict. To a lesser extent the conflict with the Serbs also resulted in a number of casualties included in the statistics.
During the Yugoslav wars
, the objectives of nationalists from Croatia were shared by Croat nationalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The ruling party in the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), organized and controlled the branch of the party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the latter part of 1991, the more extreme elements of the party, under the leadership of Mate Boban
, Dario Kordić
, Jadranko Prlić
, Ignac Koštroman and local leaders such as Anto Valenta, and with the support of Franjo Tuđman and Gojko Šušak
, had taken effective control of the party.
Following the declaration of independence
, the Serbs attacked different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The state administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina effectively ceased to function having lost control over the entire territory. The Croats and their leader Franjo Tuđman also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. Secret discussions between Franjo Tuđman and Slobodan Milošević
on the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina were held as early as March 1991 known as the Karađorđevo agreement
. The policies of the Republic of Croatia and its leader Franjo Tuđman towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were never totally transparent and always included Franjo Tuđman’s ultimate aim of expanding Croatia’s borders.
On November 18, 1991, the party branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proclaimed the existence of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, as a separate "political, cultural, economic and territorial whole," on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The ICTY illustrated this with the minutes of a meeting held on November 12, 1991 and signed by Mate Boban
and Dario Kordić: "the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina must finally embrace a determined and active policy which will realise our eternal dream – a common Croatian state". On April 10, 1992, Mate Boban decreed that the Bosnian Territorial Defence (TO), which had been created the day before, was illegal on self-proclaimed Croat territory. On May 11, Tihomir Blaškić
declared the TO illegal on the territory of the Kiseljak
municipality.
In June 1992 the focus switched to Novi Travnik
and Gornji Vakuf
where the Croat Defence Council (HVO) efforts to gain control were resisted. On June 18, 1992 the Bosnian Territorial Defence in Novi Travnik received an ultimatum
from the HVO which included demands to abolish existing Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions, establish the authority of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and pledge allegiance to it, subordinate the Territorial Defense to the HVO and expel Muslim refugees, all within 24 hours. The attack was launched on June 19. The elementary school and the Post Office were attacked and damaged. The Graz agreement
caused deep division inside the Croat community and strengthened the separation group, which led to the conflict with Bosniaks. Armed incidents started to occur among Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1992 between the HVO and the HOS. The HVO favoured an ethnic partition of the republic while the HOS fought together with the Muslims for the territorial integrity of the state. One of the primary pro-union Croat leaders, Blaž Kraljević
(leader of the HOS
armed group) was killed by HVO soldiers in August 1992, leading to the dissolution of the primary group in support of a Bosniak-Croat alliance. The situation became more serious in October 1992 when Croat forces attacked Bosniak civilian population in Prozor burning their homes and killing civilians. According to Jadranko Prlić
indictment, HVO forces cleansed most of the Muslims from the town of Prozor and several surrounding villages.
By December 1992, much of Central Bosnia was in the hands of the Croats. The Croat forces had taken control of the municipalities of the Lašva Valley and had only met significant opposition in Novi Travnik and Ahmići
.
The ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case decided that the weight of the evidence points clearly to the persecution
of Bosniak civilians in the Central Bosnian municipalities taken over by the Croat forces: Busovača
, Novi Travnik
, Vareš
, Kiseljak
, Vitez
, Kreševo
and Žepče
. The persecution followed a consistent pattern in each municipality and demonstrated that the HVO had launched a campaign
against the Bosniaks in them with the hope that the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia should secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina and with a view towards unification with Croatia.
Up till 1993 the HVO and the Bosnian Army (ARBiH) had been fighting side by side against the Army of Republika Srpska
(VRS) in some areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though armed confrontation and events like the Totić kidnapping
s strained the relationship between the HVO and ARBiH the Croat-Bosniak alliance held in Bihać pocket (northwest Bosnia) and the Bosanska Posavina (north), where both were heavily outmatched by Serb forces.
with Central Bosnia. Gornji Vakuf is a town
to the south of the Lašva Valley and of strategic importance at a crossroad
s en route to Central Bosnia. It is 48 kilometres from Novi Travnik
and about one hour’s drive from Vitez
in an armoured vehicle. For Croats it was a very important connection between the Lašva Valley and Herzegovina
, two territories included in the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. The Croat forces shelling reduced much of the historical oriental center of the town of Gornji Vakuf to rubble.
On January 10, 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the Croat Defence Council (HVO) commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Tihomir Blaškić
and Dario Kordić
, (later convicted by ICTY of war crimes and crimes against humanity i.e. ethnic cleansing
) for rounds of mortar
shell
s available at the ammunition
factory
in Vitez
. Fighting then broke out in Gornji Vakuf on January 11, 1993, sparked by a bomb which had been placed by Croats in a Bosniak-owned hotel that had been used as a military headquarters. A general outbreak of fighting followed and there was heavy shelling of the town that night by Croat artillery
.
During cease-fire negotiation
s at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, colonel
Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. The HVO demands were not accepted by the Bosnian Army and the attack continued, followed by massacres on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica. During the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
it was surrounded by Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council
for seven months and attacked with heavy artillery and other weapons (tanks and snipers). Although Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that there were no Muslim holy worriors in Gornji Vakuf (commonly known as Mujahideen) and that his soldiers did not see any. The shelling campaign and the attackes during the war resulted in hundreds of injured and killed, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians.
On the morning of January 25, 1993, Croat forces attacked the Bosniak part of the town of Busovača called Kadića Strana following the January 20 ultimatum. The attack included shelling from the surrounding hills. A loudspeaker called on Bosniaks to surrender. A police report shows that 43 people were massacred in Busovača in January and February 1993. The remaining Bosniaks (around 90 in all) were rounded up in the town square. Women and children (around 20 in total) were allowed to return home and the men (70 in all), some as young as 14–16 years, were loaded onto bus
es and taken to Kaonik camp. The violence continued after the January attack.
campaign against Bosniak civilians planned by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military
leadership
from May 1992 to March 1993 and erupting the following April, was meant to implement objectives set forth by Croat nationalists in November 1991. The Lašva Valley's Bosniaks were subjected to persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, deliberately discriminated against in the context of a widespread attack on the region's civilian population and suffered mass murder
, rape
, imprisonment
in camps, as well as the destruction of cultural sites and private property. This was often followed by anti-Bosniak propaganda
, particularly in the municipalities of Vitez
, Busovača
, Novi Travnik
and Kiseljak
. Ahmići massacre
in April 1993, was the culmination
of the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, resulting in mass killing of Bosnian Muslim civilians in just a few hours. It is the biggest massacre committed during the conflict between Croats
and the Bosnian
government
.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has ruled that these crimes amounted to crimes against humanity in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders and soldiers, most notably Dario Kordić
. Based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time, the ICTY Trial Chamber concluded in the Kordić and Čerkez case that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and instigator of this plan. According to the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center (IDC), around 2,000 Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley are missing or were killed during this period. The events inspired the British
television drama serial Warriors
.
as well, removing or marginalising local Bosniak leaders. Herzeg-Bosnia took control of the media and imposed Croatian idea
s and propaganda
. Croatian symbol
s and currency
were introduced, and Croatian curricula and the Croatian language were introduced in schools. Many Bosniaks and Serbs were removed from positions in government and private business; humanitarian aid was managed and distributed to the Bosniaks' and Serbs' disadvantage; and Bosniaks in general were increasingly harassed. Many of them were deported into concentration camps: Heliodrom
, Dretelj, Gabela, Vojno and Šunje.
According to ICTY judgment in Naletilić-Martinović case Croat forces attacked the villages of Sovici and Doljani, about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north of Mostar in the morning on April 17, 1993. The attack was part of a larger HVO offensive aimed at taking Jablanica
, the main Bosnian Muslim dominated town in the area. The HVO commanders had calculated that they needed two days to take Jablanica. The location of Sovici was of strategic significance for the HVO as it was on the way to Jablanica. For the Bosnian Army it was a gateway to the plateau of Risovac, which could create conditions for further progression towards the Adriatic coast. The larger HVO offensive on Jablanica had already started on April 15, 1993. The artillery destroyed the upper part of Sovici. The Bosnian Army was fighting back, but at about five p.m. the Bosnian Army commander in Sovici, surrendered. Approximately 70 to 75 soldiers surrendered. In total, at least 400 Bosnian Muslim civilians were detained. The HVO advance towards Jablanica was halted after a cease-fire agreement had been negotiated.
was surrounded by the Croat forces for nine months, and much of its historic city was severely destroyed in shelling including the famous Stari Most
bridge. Slobodan Praljak
, the commander of the Croatian Defence Council
, is currently on trial at the ICTY for ordering the destruction of the bridge, among other charges.
Mostar was divided into a Western part, which was dominated by the Croat forces and an Eastern part where the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was largely concentrated. However, the Bosnian Army had its headquarters in West Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. In the early hours of May 9, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked Mostar using artillery, mortars, heavy weapons and small arms. The HVO controlled all roads leading into Mostar and international organisations were denied access. Radio Mostar announced that all Bosniaks should hang out a white flag from their windows. The HVO attack had been well prepared and planned.
The Croats took over the west side of the city and expelled thousands Bosniaks from the west side into the east side of the city. The HVO shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The JNA (Yugoslav Army) demolished Carinski Bridge, Titov Bridge and Lucki Bridge over the river excluding the Stari Most
. HVO forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar. HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.
supplies was made up of several hundred truck
s, was seven kilometres in length and was bound for Tuzla
. On June 7, 1993, two members of the delegation wrote to the European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM
) at Zenica
about their fears for the safety of the convoy when it reached the area of Travnik
and Vitez in the light of threats made to it by Mate Boban
(whom the delegation had met). As a result the ECMM decided to monitor the convoy. The convoy then made its way to Central Bosnia and the area of Novi Travnik. There it was stopped at a roadblock
formed by a large crowd
of Croat women at Rankovići, north of Novi Travnik. Eight of the drivers were shot and killed, vehicle
s were driven away and the convoy was looted by civilians and soldiers. Eventually the convoy was released. In defending the convoy Britbat shot and killed two HVO soldiers. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the crowds which stopped the Convoy of Joy were under the control of Dario Kordić and colonel Blaškić.
Bosnian Army attacked the HVO in the Travnik municipality in the first week of June. By June 13, the Bosnian Army had taken Travnik and the surrounding villages. Several witnesses testified that 20,000 Croat refugees had come from Travnik as a result of the Bosnian Army offensive. However, according to an ECMM Report the first reports of ethnic cleansing and destruction were exaggerated. On June 8, there was fighting in Guča Gora with reports of atrocities and destruction, the Catholic church in flames and thousands fleeing. These reports were investigated by two ECMM monitors. They found the church still standing and the claims of destruction to be exaggerated. The movement of population was organised by the HVO. According to report dated June 9, 1993 it is the first time that the Bosnian Army have taken the military initiative against the HVO in Central Bosnia. On all other occasions the Bosnian Army have responded to HVO aggression
(Gornji Vakuf, Vitez and Mostar).
On June 9, 1993 HVO retaliated in Novi Travnik. On June 12-13, 1993 the HVO attacked villages in the Kiseljak municipality, beginning with Tulica on June 12 resulting in the deaths of at least twelve men and women and the destruction of the village. The attack began with heavy shelling of the village followed by an infantry attack from several directions. The surviving men were loaded onto a truck and taken to Kiseljak barracks. Shortly after the attack on Tulica, the associated villages of Han Ploča and Grahovci were also subject to attack. The HVO issued an ultimatum
to the Bosniaks to surrender their weapon
s. After the ultimatum expired, the village was shelled by the HVO and the Serb Army, and houses were set on fire. An HVO infantry
attack followed. Having come into the village, HVO soldiers lined up three Bosniak men against a wall and shot them. In all 64 people were killed during the attack or after HVO capture. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that the attacks on Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci were part of a sustained HVO attack in which civilians were murdered and subjected to inhumane treatment.
and Croatian Army in September 1993 in order to end the siege of Mostar
and to recapture areas of Herzegovina, which were included in self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
. The operation was stopped by Bosnian authorities after it received the information about the massacre on Croat civilians in the village of Grabovica and very difficult fight for the village of Uzdol which resulted in losses on both sides.
The entire conflict caused the creation of more ethnic enclaves and further bloodshed in the already war-ruined Bosnia. The conflict was particularly devastating for Mostar
and Gornji Vakuf
.
. In March 1994 a peace agreement mediated by the USA between the warring Croats (represented by Republic of Croatia) and Bosnia and Herzegovina
was signed in Washington and Vienna which is known as the Washington Agreement
. Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. In the start of the war the HVO controlled more than 20 percent of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, just before the signing of the Washington agreement it was less than 10 percent.
The Croat leadership (Jadranko Prlić
, Bruno Stojić
, Slobodan Praljak
, Milivoj Petković
, Valentin Ćorić
and Berislav Pušić
) is presently on trial at the ICTY on charges including crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws or customs of war. Dario Kordić
, political leader of Croats in Central Bosnia was convicted of the crimes against humanity in Central Bosnia i.e. ethnic cleansing
and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Bosnian commander Sefer Halilović
was charged with one count of violation of the laws and customs of war on the basis of superior criminal responsibility of the incidents during Operation Neretva '93
and found not guilty.
made an official visit to Bosnia in April 2010 during which he expressed a "deep regret" for Croatia's involvement in efforts to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, resulting in the Croat-Bosniak war and suffering for many people on both sides.
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the direct main predecessor to the modern-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia supported by the Republic of Croatia, that lasted from June 19, 1992 – February 23, 1994. The ICTY effectively determined the war's nature to be international between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders. The Croat-Bosniak war is often referred to as the war in a war because it was part of the larger 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...
.
There are no precise statistics dealing with the casualties of the Croat-Bosniak conflict along ethnic lines. The Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center's (IDC) data from 2007 on human losses in the regions caught in the Croat-Bosniak conflict as part of the wider Bosnian War, however, can serve as a rough approximation
Approximation
An approximation is a representation of something that is not exact, but still close enough to be useful. Although approximation is most often applied to numbers, it is also frequently applied to such things as mathematical functions, shapes, and physical laws.Approximations may be used because...
. According to this data, in Central Bosnia most of the 10,448 documented casualties (soldiers and civilians) were Bosniaks
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...
(62%), with Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
in second (24%) and Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
(13%) in third place. The municipalities of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Bugojno
Bugojno
Bugojno is a town and municipality of the same name in central Bosnia and Herzegovina on the river Vrbas. It is located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. The town is to the northwest from Sarajevo, with an estimated population of 50,000 .To the west...
also geographically located in Central Bosnia (known as Gornje Povrbasje region), with the 1,337 documented casualties are not included in Central Bosnia statistics, but in Vrbas
Vrbas
Vrbas may refer to:* Vrbas , river in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Vrbas , town and municipality in Vojvodina, Serbia* Vrbas , village in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
region statistics. Approximately 70-80% of the casualties from Gornje Povrbasje were Bosniaks. In the region of Neretva
Neretva
Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...
river of 6,717 casualties, 54% were Bosniaks, 24% Serbs and 21% Croats. The casualties in those regions were mostly but not exclusively the consequence of Croat-Bosniak conflict. To a lesser extent the conflict with the Serbs also resulted in a number of casualties included in the statistics.
Background
Yugoslav 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...
, the objectives of nationalists from Croatia were shared by Croat nationalists in Bosnia and 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...
. The ruling party in the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ), organized and controlled the branch of the party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the latter part of 1991, the more extreme elements of the party, under the leadership of Mate Boban
Mate Boban
Mate Boban was a Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived and self proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia that existed between 1991−1994 during the Bosnian war.-Pre-war life:...
, Dario Kordić
Dario Kordic
Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician, military commander of the HVO forces between 1992 and 1994, and vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
, Jadranko Prlić
Jadranko Prlic
Jadranko Prlić is a Croatian politician who is among six accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , in relation to the joint criminal enterprise which included mass war crimes and ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslim population.-History:Son of Mile, was born on...
, Ignac Koštroman and local leaders such as Anto Valenta, and with the support of Franjo Tuđman and Gojko Šušak
Gojko Šušak
Gojko Šušak was the Croatian Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1998. A Bosnian Croat emigreé to Canada, he entered the political life of Croat diaspora in North America, subsequently becoming a close friend and associate to Franjo Tuđman, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union, a nationalistic...
, had taken effective control of the party.
Following the declaration of independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, the Serbs attacked different parts of Bosnia and 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...
. The state administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina effectively ceased to function having lost control over the entire territory. The Croats and their leader Franjo Tuđman also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. Secret discussions between Franjo Tuđman and Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
on the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina were held as early as March 1991 known as the Karađorđevo agreement
Karađorđevo agreement
In 1991, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević had a series of discussions which became known as the Karađorđevo agreement or, less commonly, the Karađorđevo meeting. These discussions commenced as early as March, 1991...
. The policies of the Republic of Croatia and its leader Franjo Tuđman towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were never totally transparent and always included Franjo Tuđman’s ultimate aim of expanding Croatia’s borders.
On November 18, 1991, the party branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proclaimed the existence of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, as a separate "political, cultural, economic and territorial whole," on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The ICTY illustrated this with the minutes of a meeting held on November 12, 1991 and signed by Mate Boban
Mate Boban
Mate Boban was a Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived and self proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia that existed between 1991−1994 during the Bosnian war.-Pre-war life:...
and Dario Kordić: "the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina must finally embrace a determined and active policy which will realise our eternal dream – a common Croatian state". On April 10, 1992, Mate Boban decreed that the Bosnian Territorial Defence (TO), which had been created the day before, was illegal on self-proclaimed Croat territory. On May 11, Tihomir Blaškić
Tihomir Blaškic
Tihomir Blaškić is a Bosnian Croat army officer who was sentenced in 2000 to 45 years imprisonment at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for war crimes as part of the Lašva valley ethnic cleansing...
declared the TO illegal on the territory of the Kiseljak
Kiseljak
Kiseljak is a small town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located northwest of Sarajevo and south of Zenica. Kiseljak lies in the valley of the rivers Fojnica , Lepenica and Kreševka, which are a tributary of the Bosna, and it is on the intersection of roads from Visoko, Fojnica,...
municipality.
In June 1992 the focus switched to Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of Travnik on the road to Bugojno...
and Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje is a town and municipality in Central Bosnia , located between Bugojno, Prozor, Kupres, Novi Travnik and Konjic. It is under the administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
where the Croat Defence Council (HVO) efforts to gain control were resisted. On June 18, 1992 the Bosnian Territorial Defence in Novi Travnik received an ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
from the HVO which included demands to abolish existing Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions, establish the authority of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and pledge allegiance to it, subordinate the Territorial Defense to the HVO and expel Muslim refugees, all within 24 hours. The attack was launched on June 19. The elementary school and the Post Office were attacked and damaged. The Graz agreement
Graz agreement
The Graz agreement was a partition agreement signed between Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and Bosnian Croat leader Mate Boban on 6 May 1992 in the town of Graz, Austria. The agreement was meant to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina between Republika Srpska and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
caused deep division inside the Croat community and strengthened the separation group, which led to the conflict with Bosniaks. Armed incidents started to occur among Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1992 between the HVO and the HOS. The HVO favoured an ethnic partition of the republic while the HOS fought together with the Muslims for the territorial integrity of the state. One of the primary pro-union Croat leaders, Blaž Kraljević
Blaž Kraljevic
Blaž Nikola Kraljević was a Bosnian Croat paramilitary leader during the first few months of the Bosnian War who commanded the Croatian Defence Forces...
(leader of the HOS
Croatian Defence Forces
The Croatian Defence Forces was the military arm of the Croatian Party of Rights from 1991 to 1992 during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars....
armed group) was killed by HVO soldiers in August 1992, leading to the dissolution of the primary group in support of a Bosniak-Croat alliance. The situation became more serious in October 1992 when Croat forces attacked Bosniak civilian population in Prozor burning their homes and killing civilians. According to Jadranko Prlić
Jadranko Prlic
Jadranko Prlić is a Croatian politician who is among six accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , in relation to the joint criminal enterprise which included mass war crimes and ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslim population.-History:Son of Mile, was born on...
indictment, HVO forces cleansed most of the Muslims from the town of Prozor and several surrounding villages.
By December 1992, much of Central Bosnia was in the hands of the Croats. The Croat forces had taken control of the municipalities of the Lašva Valley and had only met significant opposition in Novi Travnik and Ahmići
Ahmici
Ahmići is a village in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the municipality of Vitez in the Lašva river valley.In April 1993 during Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, the Croatian Defence Council forces indiscriminately attacked the village and massacred around 120 civilians, which is...
.
The ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case decided that the weight of the evidence points clearly to the persecution
Persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
of Bosniak civilians in the Central Bosnian municipalities taken over by the Croat forces: Busovača
Busovaca
Busovača is a small town and municipality in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is from Sarajevo, from Zenica, and from Travnik.-History:During the Bosnian War, the city saw heavy fighting between the Bosnian Army and the Croatian Defence Council...
, Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of Travnik on the road to Bugojno...
, Vareš
Vareš
Vareš is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, famous for the local mining activities and production of iron. It is part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-About Vareš:...
, Kiseljak
Kiseljak
Kiseljak is a small town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located northwest of Sarajevo and south of Zenica. Kiseljak lies in the valley of the rivers Fojnica , Lepenica and Kreševka, which are a tributary of the Bosna, and it is on the intersection of roads from Visoko, Fojnica,...
, Vitez
Vitez
Vitez is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Name:...
, Kreševo
Kreševo
Kreševo is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity.-Settlements:• Alagići• Bjelovići• Botunja• Bukva• Crkvenjak• Crnički Kamenik• Crnići• Deževice...
and Žepče
Žepce
Žepče is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Doboj and Zenica. It is administratively part of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-About Žepče:...
. The persecution followed a consistent pattern in each municipality and demonstrated that the HVO had launched a campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
against the Bosniaks in them with the hope that the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia should secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina and with a view towards unification with Croatia.
Up till 1993 the HVO and the Bosnian Army (ARBiH) had been fighting side by side against 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...
(VRS) in some areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though armed confrontation and events like the Totić kidnapping
Totic kidnapping
Totić kidnapping was an April 1993 kidnapping of Živko Totić, the head of the Croatian Defence Council Military Police in Zenica and a few other persons. It is alleged that the kidnapping was performed by Muslim forces...
s strained the relationship between the HVO and ARBiH the Croat-Bosniak alliance held in Bihać pocket (northwest Bosnia) and the Bosanska Posavina (north), where both were heavily outmatched by Serb forces.
Gornji Vakuf shelling
On January 1993 Croat forces attacked Gornji Vakuf again in order to connect HerzegovinaHerzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
with Central Bosnia. Gornji Vakuf is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
to the south of the Lašva Valley and of strategic importance at a crossroad
Junction (road)
A road junction is a location where vehicular traffic going in different directions can proceed in a controlled manner designed to minimize accidents. In some cases, vehicles can change between different routes or directions of travel.-Origins:...
s en route to Central Bosnia. It is 48 kilometres from Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of Travnik on the road to Bugojno...
and about one hour’s drive from Vitez
Vitez
Vitez is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Name:...
in an armoured vehicle. For Croats it was a very important connection between the Lašva Valley and Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
, two territories included in the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. The Croat forces shelling reduced much of the historical oriental center of the town of Gornji Vakuf to rubble.
On January 10, 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the Croat Defence Council (HVO) commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Tihomir Blaškić
Tihomir Blaškic
Tihomir Blaškić is a Bosnian Croat army officer who was sentenced in 2000 to 45 years imprisonment at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for war crimes as part of the Lašva valley ethnic cleansing...
and Dario Kordić
Dario Kordic
Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician, military commander of the HVO forces between 1992 and 1994, and vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
, (later convicted by ICTY of war crimes and crimes against humanity i.e. 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....
) for rounds of mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
shell
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
s available at the ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in Vitez
Vitez
Vitez is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Name:...
. Fighting then broke out in Gornji Vakuf on January 11, 1993, sparked by a bomb which had been placed by Croats in a Bosniak-owned hotel that had been used as a military headquarters. A general outbreak of fighting followed and there was heavy shelling of the town that night by Croat artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
During cease-fire negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
s at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. The HVO demands were not accepted by the Bosnian Army and the attack continued, followed by massacres on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica. During the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, also known as the Lašva Valley case, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the Lašva Valley region of Bosnia-Herzegovina...
it was surrounded by Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council
Croatian Defence Council
The Croatian Defence Council was a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War.-History:...
for seven months and attacked with heavy artillery and other weapons (tanks and snipers). Although Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that there were no Muslim holy worriors in Gornji Vakuf (commonly known as Mujahideen) and that his soldiers did not see any. The shelling campaign and the attackes during the war resulted in hundreds of injured and killed, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians.
On the morning of January 25, 1993, Croat forces attacked the Bosniak part of the town of Busovača called Kadića Strana following the January 20 ultimatum. The attack included shelling from the surrounding hills. A loudspeaker called on Bosniaks to surrender. A police report shows that 43 people were massacred in Busovača in January and February 1993. The remaining Bosniaks (around 90 in all) were rounded up in the town square. Women and children (around 20 in total) were allowed to return home and the men (70 in all), some as young as 14–16 years, were loaded onto bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es and taken to Kaonik camp. The violence continued after the January attack.
Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansingLašva Valley ethnic cleansing
The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, also known as the Lašva Valley case, refers to numerous war crimes committed during the Bosnian war by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the Lašva Valley region of Bosnia-Herzegovina...
campaign against Bosniak civilians planned by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
from May 1992 to March 1993 and erupting the following April, was meant to implement objectives set forth by Croat nationalists in November 1991. The Lašva Valley's Bosniaks were subjected to persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, deliberately discriminated against in the context of a widespread attack on the region's civilian population and suffered mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
in camps, as well as the destruction of cultural sites and private property. This was often followed by anti-Bosniak propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, particularly in the municipalities of Vitez
Vitez
Vitez is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Name:...
, Busovača
Busovaca
Busovača is a small town and municipality in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is from Sarajevo, from Zenica, and from Travnik.-History:During the Bosnian War, the city saw heavy fighting between the Bosnian Army and the Croatian Defence Council...
, Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik
Novi Travnik is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of Travnik on the road to Bugojno...
and Kiseljak
Kiseljak
Kiseljak is a small town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located northwest of Sarajevo and south of Zenica. Kiseljak lies in the valley of the rivers Fojnica , Lepenica and Kreševka, which are a tributary of the Bosna, and it is on the intersection of roads from Visoko, Fojnica,...
. Ahmići massacre
Ahmici massacre
Ahmići massacre was the culmination of the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing committed by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership on Bosniak civilians during the Croat-Bosniak war in April 1993...
in April 1993, was the culmination
Culmination
In astronomy, the culmination of a planet, star, constellation, etc. is the altitude reached when the object transits over an observer's meridian....
of the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, resulting in mass killing of Bosnian Muslim civilians in just a few hours. It is the biggest massacre committed during the conflict between Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and the Bosnian
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...
government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has ruled that these crimes amounted to crimes against humanity in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders and soldiers, most notably Dario Kordić
Dario Kordic
Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician, military commander of the HVO forces between 1992 and 1994, and vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
. Based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time, the ICTY Trial Chamber concluded in the Kordić and Čerkez case that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and instigator of this plan. According to the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center (IDC), around 2,000 Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley are missing or were killed during this period. The events inspired the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television drama serial Warriors
Warriors (TV series)
Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. The music was written by Debbie Wiseman...
.
War in Herzegovina
The Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia took control of many municipal governments and services in HerzegovinaHerzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
as well, removing or marginalising local Bosniak leaders. Herzeg-Bosnia took control of the media and imposed Croatian idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
s and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. Croatian symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s and currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
were introduced, and Croatian curricula and the Croatian language were introduced in schools. Many Bosniaks and Serbs were removed from positions in government and private business; humanitarian aid was managed and distributed to the Bosniaks' and Serbs' disadvantage; and Bosniaks in general were increasingly harassed. Many of them were deported into concentration camps: Heliodrom
Heliodrom Camp
Heliodrom camp was a concentration camp operated between September 1992 and April 1994 by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatian Defence Council to detain Bosniaks and other non-Croats during the Bosnian War, it was located in Rodoc, just south of Mostar town, in Mostar...
, Dretelj, Gabela, Vojno and Šunje.
According to ICTY judgment in Naletilić-Martinović case Croat forces attacked the villages of Sovici and Doljani, about 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) north of Mostar in the morning on April 17, 1993. The attack was part of a larger HVO offensive aimed at taking Jablanica
Jablanica
Jablanica or Yablanitsa may refer to:* Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town in Herzegovina* Yablanitsa, a town in Lovech Province, Bulgaria* Yablanitsa, Sofia Province, village in Sofia Province, Bulgaria* Jablanica, Zlatibor, village in Serbia...
, the main Bosnian Muslim dominated town in the area. The HVO commanders had calculated that they needed two days to take Jablanica. The location of Sovici was of strategic significance for the HVO as it was on the way to Jablanica. For the Bosnian Army it was a gateway to the plateau of Risovac, which could create conditions for further progression towards the Adriatic coast. The larger HVO offensive on Jablanica had already started on April 15, 1993. The artillery destroyed the upper part of Sovici. The Bosnian Army was fighting back, but at about five p.m. the Bosnian Army commander in Sovici, surrendered. Approximately 70 to 75 soldiers surrendered. In total, at least 400 Bosnian Muslim civilians were detained. The HVO advance towards Jablanica was halted after a cease-fire agreement had been negotiated.
Siege of Mostar
MostarMostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
was surrounded by the Croat forces for nine months, and much of its historic city was severely destroyed in shelling including the famous Stari Most
Stari most
Stari Most is a 16th century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on November 9, 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War...
bridge. Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak is a Croatian politician, HV and HVO general from Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, the commander of the Croatian Defence Council
Croatian Defence Council
The Croatian Defence Council was a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War.-History:...
, is currently on trial at the ICTY for ordering the destruction of the bridge, among other charges.
Mostar was divided into a Western part, which was dominated by the Croat forces and an Eastern part where the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was largely concentrated. However, the Bosnian Army had its headquarters in West Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. In the early hours of May 9, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked Mostar using artillery, mortars, heavy weapons and small arms. The HVO controlled all roads leading into Mostar and international organisations were denied access. Radio Mostar announced that all Bosniaks should hang out a white flag from their windows. The HVO attack had been well prepared and planned.
The Croats took over the west side of the city and expelled thousands Bosniaks from the west side into the east side of the city. The HVO shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The JNA (Yugoslav Army) demolished Carinski Bridge, Titov Bridge and Lucki Bridge over the river excluding the Stari Most
Stari most
Stari Most is a 16th century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on November 9, 1993 during the Croat-Bosniak War...
. HVO forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar. HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.
The June 1993 Offensives
In June 1993 further fighting broke out in Central Bosnia, some of it caused by the newly revitalised Bosnian Army. Further complications were caused with the incident between Croats and UNPROFOR known as The Convoy of Joy Incident. This convoy of aidAid
In international relations, aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country....
supplies was made up of several hundred truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s, was seven kilometres in length and was bound for Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
. On June 7, 1993, two members of the delegation wrote to the European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM
ECMM
The European Union Monitoring Mission is a program initiated by the European Union in July 1991 to monitor borders, inter-ethnic relations, refugee traffic, and political and security developments in the former-Yugoslavia area of the western Balkans...
) at 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...
about their fears for the safety of the convoy when it reached the area of 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...
and Vitez in the light of threats made to it by Mate Boban
Mate Boban
Mate Boban was a Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived and self proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia that existed between 1991−1994 during the Bosnian war.-Pre-war life:...
(whom the delegation had met). As a result the ECMM decided to monitor the convoy. The convoy then made its way to Central Bosnia and the area of Novi Travnik. There it was stopped at a roadblock
Roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:*Roadworks*Temporary road closure during special events*Police chase*Robbery*Sobriety checkpoint...
formed by a large crowd
Crowd
A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...
of Croat women at Rankovići, north of Novi Travnik. Eight of the drivers were shot and killed, vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
s were driven away and the convoy was looted by civilians and soldiers. Eventually the convoy was released. In defending the convoy Britbat shot and killed two HVO soldiers. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the crowds which stopped the Convoy of Joy were under the control of Dario Kordić and colonel Blaškić.
Bosnian Army attacked the HVO in the Travnik municipality in the first week of June. By June 13, the Bosnian Army had taken Travnik and the surrounding villages. Several witnesses testified that 20,000 Croat refugees had come from Travnik as a result of the Bosnian Army offensive. However, according to an ECMM Report the first reports of ethnic cleansing and destruction were exaggerated. On June 8, there was fighting in Guča Gora with reports of atrocities and destruction, the Catholic church in flames and thousands fleeing. These reports were investigated by two ECMM monitors. They found the church still standing and the claims of destruction to be exaggerated. The movement of population was organised by the HVO. According to report dated June 9, 1993 it is the first time that the Bosnian Army have taken the military initiative against the HVO in Central Bosnia. On all other occasions the Bosnian Army have responded to HVO aggression
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
(Gornji Vakuf, Vitez and Mostar).
On June 9, 1993 HVO retaliated in Novi Travnik. On June 12-13, 1993 the HVO attacked villages in the Kiseljak municipality, beginning with Tulica on June 12 resulting in the deaths of at least twelve men and women and the destruction of the village. The attack began with heavy shelling of the village followed by an infantry attack from several directions. The surviving men were loaded onto a truck and taken to Kiseljak barracks. Shortly after the attack on Tulica, the associated villages of Han Ploča and Grahovci were also subject to attack. The HVO issued an ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
to the Bosniaks to surrender their weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s. After the ultimatum expired, the village was shelled by the HVO and the Serb Army, and houses were set on fire. An HVO infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
attack followed. Having come into the village, HVO soldiers lined up three Bosniak men against a wall and shot them. In all 64 people were killed during the attack or after HVO capture. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that the attacks on Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci were part of a sustained HVO attack in which civilians were murdered and subjected to inhumane treatment.
The Remaining Offensives
Bosnian Army launched an operation known as Neretva 93 against the Croatian Defence CouncilCroatian Defence Council
The Croatian Defence Council was a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War.-History:...
and Croatian Army in September 1993 in order to end the siege of Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and to recapture areas of Herzegovina, which were included in self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was an unrecognised entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina that existed between 1991 and 1994 during the Bosnian war. It was proclaimed on November 18, 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, and claimed to be a separate or distinct "political,...
. The operation was stopped by Bosnian authorities after it received the information about the massacre on Croat civilians in the village of Grabovica and very difficult fight for the village of Uzdol which resulted in losses on both sides.
The entire conflict caused the creation of more ethnic enclaves and further bloodshed in the already war-ruined Bosnia. The conflict was particularly devastating for Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje is a town and municipality in Central Bosnia , located between Bugojno, Prozor, Kupres, Novi Travnik and Konjic. It is under the administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
.
War ends
The Croat-Bosniak war officially ended on February 23, 1994 when the Commander of HVO, general Ante Roso and commander of Bosnian Army, general Rasim Delić, signed a ceasefire agreement in ZagrebZagreb
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 March 1994 a peace agreement mediated by the USA between the warring Croats (represented by Republic of Croatia) and Bosnia and 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...
was signed in Washington and Vienna which is known as the Washington Agreement
Washington Agreement
The Washington Agreement was a ceasefire agreement between the warring Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, signed in Washington on 18 March 1994 and Vienna. It was signed by Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdžić, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granić and...
. Under the agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing 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...
. In the start of the war the HVO controlled more than 20 percent of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; however, just before the signing of the Washington agreement it was less than 10 percent.
The Croat leadership (Jadranko Prlić
Jadranko Prlic
Jadranko Prlić is a Croatian politician who is among six accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , in relation to the joint criminal enterprise which included mass war crimes and ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslim population.-History:Son of Mile, was born on...
, Bruno Stojić
Bruno Stojic
Bruno Stojić is a Bosnian-Croat politician who has been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
, Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak
Slobodan Praljak is a Croatian politician, HV and HVO general from Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, Milivoj Petković
Milivoj Petkovic
Milivoj Petković is a Bosnian Croat army officer who is among six defendants charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , in relation to the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War....
, Valentin Ćorić
Valentin Coric
Valentin Ćorić is a Bosnian-Croat politician who is among six defendants charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia -Background:...
and Berislav Pušić
Berislav Pušic
Berislav Pušić sometimes misspelled as Nerislav Pušić is a Croatian politician who was among 6 Croatian defendants charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia -Background:...
) is presently on trial at the ICTY on charges including crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws or customs of war. Dario Kordić
Dario Kordic
Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician, military commander of the HVO forces between 1992 and 1994, and vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia...
, political leader of Croats in Central Bosnia was convicted of the crimes against humanity in Central Bosnia i.e. 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....
and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Bosnian commander 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...
was charged with one count of violation of the laws and customs of war on the basis of superior criminal responsibility of the incidents during Operation Neretva '93
Operation Neretva '93
Operation Neretva '93 was a Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina operation against the Croatian Defence Council and Croatian Army in September 1993 and was launched in order to end the siege of the Bosniak part of Mostar surrounded by Croat forces and severely destroyed, and to...
and found not guilty.
Croatia's Regret
Croatia's president Ivo JosipovićIvo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
made an official visit to Bosnia in April 2010 during which he expressed a "deep regret" for Croatia's involvement in efforts to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, resulting in the Croat-Bosniak war and suffering for many people on both sides.
External links
- The war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1991-1995 - by Branka Magaš, Ivo Žanić, Noel Malcolm
- James Mason, photographs: War in Central Bosnia
- ICTY: Prlić et al. Initial Indictment - The Joint Criminal Enterprise (Herzeg-Bosnia case)
- ICTY: Initial indictment for the ethnic cleansing of the Lasva Valley area - Part I
- ICTY: Initial indictment for the ethnic cleansing of the Lasva Valley area - Part II
- ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict
- ICTY: Blaškić verdict
- ICTY: Aleksovski verdict
- ICTY: Miroslav Bralo verdict
- ICTY: Naletilic and Martinovic verdict
- HRW: Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
- United States Institute of Peace: Washington Agreement
- Institute for War & Peace Reporting - Plan to Divide Bosnia Revealed
- The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Paško Ljubičić indictment
- The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Krešo Lučić indictment
- arhivcroTV