Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing
Encyclopedia
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 (Bosniak
) civilian
s in the Lašva Valley
region of Bosnia-Herzegovina
. The campaign, planned 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 camp
s, 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
.
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. Further concluding that the Croatian Army was involved in the campaign, the ICTY defined the events as an international conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
.
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 objectives within Croatia were shared by the Croats of 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. 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.
, Busovača
and Kiseljak
were regularly discriminated
against. Conditions became so onerous for Bosniak civilians that many of them decided to leave the area and move to municipalities where they would be in the majority. Those who nevertheless chose to remain in those municipalities had to accept that they would be subject to persecution by a political and military regime increasingly hostile to them. The first destruction of mosques and Bosniak homes, the first murders of civilians, and the first acts of pillage occurred at this time.
introduced new taxes and asked members of staff to sign a declaration of allegiance to the new Croat Government, threatening those that did not obey with dismissal. Many Bosniaks were refused access to public institutions because they had refused to sign the declaration and they were unable to get the laissez-passer necessary to drive on the roads that the Croat forces had taken over.
. On May 10, 1992, Dario Kordić and Ivo Brnada decided to revoke the arms distribution agreement which had been concluded with the Bosnian Territorial Defence, seize all weapons, and take control of the barracks. They then issued an ultimatum to all Bosnian military units calling on them to surrender their weapons and to place themselves under Croat command. By a decree
dated May 22, 1992, Dario Kordić and Florian Glavočević proceeded to give the HVO general administrative powers over the municipality. After those two decrees had been adopted, Bosnian state organs were abolished and Bosniaks were progressively excluded from local political structures. Croat forces also seized the television broadcasting station at Skradno and created its own local radio and television to carry propaganda, seized the public institutions, raised the Croatian flag over public institution buildings, and imposed the Croatian Dinar as the unit of currency. During this time, Busovača's Bosniaks were forced to sign an act of allegiance to the Croat authorities, fell victim to numerous attacks on shops and businesses and, gradually, left the area out of fear that they would be the victims of mass crimes.
from April to November 1992, demonstrating the Croat authorities' resolve to take political and military control of the Kiseljak municipality. The authorities created a radio station
which broadcast nationalist propaganda. General Blaškić expelled the Bosnian Territorial Defence from the former Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) buildings on May 14, 1992.
where Croat efforts to gain control were met with resistance. On June 18, 1992 the Bosnian
government forces in Novi Travnik received an ultimatum
from the HVO which included demands to abolish existing government institutions, pledge allegiance to a newly established Croat authority, subordinate Bosnian forces to the HVO and expel Bosniak refugee
s - all within 24 hours. On June 19, 1992 armed conflict broke out. The fighting lasted two hours and the headquarters of the Bosnian Territorial Defence, the elementary school and the post office
were attacked and damaged by local Croat units, including units from Vitez and Busovača. Bosniaks in the lower part of the town were subjected to killings, rape and other mistreatment.
During August 1992, the Croat forces launched attacks on the villages of Duhri, Potkraj, Radanovići and Topole and these attacks involved more violent incidents, including the setting of Bosniak homes on fire and vandalising their businesses. Many civilians who feared future attacks started to leave the Kiseljak enclave at this time.
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.
By December 1992, the situation in Central Bosnia was this: the Croat forces had taken control of the municipalities of the Lašva Valley and had only met significant opposition in Novi Travnik and Ahmići
. Much of Central Bosnia therefore was in the hands of the Croats.
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.
On January 10, 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the HVO
commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Blaškić and Dario Kordić 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. 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 warriors in Gornji Vakuf (commonly known as Mujahideen) and that his soldiers did not see any.
es and taken to Kaonik camp. The violence continued after the January attack.
and the Bosnian
government.
The attack began at 05:30 hours on April 16, 1993. The Croat Defence Council (HVO) shelled the Bosniak part of Ahmići
and moved in killing many Bosniaks, including women, children and the elderly. They destroyed a large number of Bosniak homes, and caused extensive damage to the village's two mosque
s. An estimate puts the death toll at 120. The youngest was a three-month-old baby, who was machine-gunned to death in his crib, and the oldest was an 81-year-old woman.
to discuss the implementation of the Vance-Owen Peace Plan. The Croats decided to implement the creation of "Croatian Provinces" (Provinces 3, 8 and 10) placing the Bosnian armed forces under the command of the General Staff of the HVO. On April 4, according to Reuters
, the HVO HQ in Mostar set a deadline
for President Izetbegović
to sign the above agreement and stated: If Izetbegović fails to sign this agreement by April 15, the HVO will unilaterally enforce its jurisdiction
in cantons three, eight and ten. In a message from Kordić
, Ignac Koštroman and Anto Valenta, the Croat people were told to display more Croatian flag
s on buildings.
, Stari Vitez, Ahmići
, Nadioci, Šantici, Pirići, Novaci, Putiš and Donja Večeriska. General Blaškić spoke of 20 to 22 sites of simultaneous combat all along the road linking Travnik, Vitez and Busovača. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that this was a planned attack against the Bosniak civilian population. The attack was preceded by several political declarations announcing that a conflict between Croatian forces and Bosnian forces was imminent. On the day of the attack, telephone lines had been cut because all communication exchanges in the municipality of Vitez were under HVO control.
Croat inhabitants of those villages were warned of the attack and some of them were involved in preparing it. Croat women and children had been evacuated on the eve of the fighting. The method of attack displayed a high level of preparation. The attacks in the built-up areas, such as those carried out in the Ahmići area were operations planned in minute detail with the aim of killing or driving out the Bosniak population, resulting in a massacre. On the evening of April 15, unusual HVO troop movements had been noticed. On the morning of April 16, the main roads were blocked by Croat troops. According to several international observers, the attack occurred from three sides and was designed to force the fleeing population towards the south where elite marksmen
with particularly sophisticated weapons shot those escaping. Other troops, organised in small groups of about five to ten soldiers, went from house to house setting them on fire and killing the residents. Around one hundred soldiers who took part in the operation. The attack resulted in the massacre of the Bosniak villagers and the destruction of the village. Among the more than 100 who died were 32 women and 11 boys and girls under the age of 18. The aim of the HVO artillery was to support the infantry
and destroy structures which the infantry couldn't. The mosque, for example, was hit by a shot from a powerful weapon. Later the minaret
was blown up by Bralo and Jukić.
An ECMM
observer said he had seen the bodies of children who, from their position, seemed to have died in agony in the flames: "some of the houses were absolute scenes of horror, because not only were the people dead, but there were those who were burned and obviously some had been burned with flame launchers, which had charred the bodies and this was the case of several of the bodies". According to the ECMM report, at least 103 people were killed during the attack on Ahmići.
, 180 of the existing 200 Bosniak houses in Ahmići were burned during the attack. The Commission on Human Rights made the same finding in its report dated May 19, 1993. According to the ECMM practically all the Bosnian Muslim houses in the villages of Ahmići, Nadioci, Pirići, Sivrino Selo, Gaćice, Gomionica, Gromiljak and Rotilj had been burned. According to ECMM observer "it was a whole area that was burning". Several religious buildings were destroyed. Two mosques were deliberately mined and given the careful placement of the explosives inside the buildings. Furthermore, the mosque in Donji Ahmići was destroyed by explosives laid around the base of its minaret.
, stationed at the bungalow in Nadioci. Other participants included the Vitezovi, the Viteška brigade of the municipality of Vitez, the Nikola Šubić Zrinski brigade of Busovača, together with Domobrani units (units set up in each village in accordance with a decision from Mostar dated February 8, 1993) stationed at Ahmići, Šantići, Pirići and Nadioci. Many witnesses in the Blaškić case also referred to soldiers in camouflage uniforms being present, wearing the emblem of the Croatian Army. Several Croat inhabitants of these villages also participated in the attack. They were members of the Domobrani such as Slavko Miličević for the Donji Ahmići sector, Žarko Papić for the Zume area, Branko Perković in Nadioci, Zoran Kupreškić in Grabovi (an area in the centre of Ahmići), Nenad Šantić and Colic in Šantići.
denied to Payam Akhavan, an investigator with the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, that the HVO were involved in the Ahmići massacre; indeed, he said that his men, as good Christian
s, would never commit such acts and blamed the Serbs
or the Muslims themselves: according to him, no investigation was necessary. A similar response was given by general Tihomir Blaškić
to British Colonel Stewart in Kordić's presence.
in the area with attacks happening simultaneously up and down the valley. According to professional military opinion of a British colonel, the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been taken by surprise. HVO soldiers in camouflage
uniform
s entered the streets of Vitez, arresting Bosniaks and killing them in their apartments. The prominent Bosniaks of the town were arrested. Anto Breljaš, a former member of the Vitezovi Unit, said that the Viteška Brigade of HVO and the Vitezovi attacked Stari Vitez but the Vitezovi did not take part in the Ahmići massacre
as a unit, although one or two individuals may have done so.
The two villages of Donja Večeriska and Gornja Večeriska near Vitez were attacked on April 16, 1993. On the night of April 15, 1993, most Croats left Donja Večeriska. Nonetheless, an attack was not expected by Bosniaks since the Croats had evacuated the village several times before. The shelling started at 5:30 a.m. with an anti-aircraft gun shooting from the factory nearby. Grenade
s were thrown into the houses and the residents and others were then arrested and beaten. The majority of Bosniak houses were burned. At least eight persons were killed in the attack and the village was destroyed by explosives and fire.
In all, 172 Bosniaks in the Vitez municipality were killed and 5,000 expelled, (1,200 having been detained): 420 buildings were destroyed, together with three mosques, two Muslim
seminaries
and two schools.
government
hands. However, the HVO surrounded it and subjected it to siege
and attack from April 1993 to February 1994. The period was characterized by confrontations of varying intensity, in particular by a violent attack on July 18, 1993 when a great many homemade weapons known as "baby bombs" were fired on Stari Vitez and killed many Bosniaks. That quarter of the town was also targeted by multi-tube rocket-launchers and mortars.
On April 18, 1993 a tanker containing 500 kilograms of explosives exploded near the mosque in Stari Vitez, destroying the offices of the Bosnian War Presidency, killing at least six people and injuring 50 others. The ICTY accepted that this action was a piece of pure terrorism
committed by elements within the Croat forces, as an attack on the Bosniak population of Stari Vitez.
but, over the weeks and months that followed, many of them moved back. The villages were then attacked by the HVO in April. The nearby village of Putiš had been attacked on April 15. In the afternoon of April 16, 1993 masked Croat soldier
s attacked the village of Očehnići by firing incendiary
bullet
s into the houses. Within half an hour all the Bosniak houses were burning. The villagers were unarmed and did not put up any resistance. According to witness
es, Paško Ljubičić, later accused of war crimes by ICTY, was the leader of the unit that had attacked the village and that he had been ordered to do so by brigadier
Duško Grubešić, commander
of the Zrinski Brigade of HVO, to cleanse Muslims from the area. Around twenty men from Lončari were detained and taken to Kaonik on April 16, 1993. Upon arrival they were lined up and their valuables were stolen by HVO soldiers.
to an HVO brigade to capture two of the villages where all enemy forces were to be placed under HVO command. The villages of Gomionica, Svinjarevo and Behrići (which were all close to each other and connected by the main road) were attacked by the HVO, together with Rotilj, Gromiljak, Polje Višnjica and other Bosniak villages in this part of the Kiseljak municipality. The Bosniak population of these villages was either killed or expelled, houses and mosques were set on fire and, in Svinjarevo and Gomionica, houses were plundered. In the case of Rotilj the Bosnian Territorial Defence forces (TO) were asked to surrender their gun
s before the HVO shelled the village. As a result the lower part of the village was set on fire, twenty houses or barn
s were destroyed and seven civilians were killed.
The HVO launched its attack on the village of Svinjarevo by firing 60, 80 and 120 millimetre mortars and anti-aircraft weapons. As soon as the shelling stopped, soldiers from the Bosnian Territorial Defence organised the evacuation
of about 200 civilians from the village. The HVO infantry
entered Svinjarevo and the neighbouring villages of Rauševac, Puriševo, Japojrevo and Jehovac, torched several houses belonging to Bosnian Muslims and killed ten civilians. The soldiers also took civilians to the Kiseljak barracks
where they were imprisoned for several weeks. The attacks carried on until April 23, 1993.
When ECMM
Monitors visited the villages they found almost all the Bosnian Muslims had left, their houses had been burned and they concluded that ethnic cleansing
had taken place in the area. The ICTY found that Dario Kordić
was involved in these attacks in a municipality about 25 kilometers from Busovača. The attacks occurred two days after the attacks on the Bosniak villages of the Lašva Valley and were part of the pattern
of attacks on the Bosnian Muslims of Central Bosnia. Blaškić would not have launched the attacks without political approval which meant the approval of the local leadership in the person of Dario Kordić.
in Zenica
was shelled by HVO
on April 19, 1993 from the village of Putičevo, 15 kilometres from Zenica, killing 15 people and injuring another 50. The shell
s landed in three groups of two, at 12:10 p.m., 12:24 p.m. and 12:29 p.m. Two pieces of artillery
were used: D-30 J Howitzers which are hand-loaded and which have a slow rate of fire. It was a professional piece of artillery work with the fire being adjusted by an observer. Two Danish
members of the ECMM
, visited the scene shortly after the shelling and took photographs. These photographs show scenes of devastation
in the market area, bodies lying on the ground, destroyed cars, a demolished bus shelter and damaged buildings. Croats blamed Serbs for the massacre, but ICTY discarded such claims during Dario Kordić trial
.
ordered Stjepan Tuka, a moderate
HVO officer and commander in Fojnica
, to attack Dusina. Tuka, however, did not carry out the order as he hoped for an agreement
and followed a policy of compromise in Fojnica where peace had been maintained. The result was his dismissal
, despite protests from the local HVO and other organizations.
On April 19 the ECMM reported a sharp deterioration
of the situation in Central Bosnia, a possible explanation being the suspected aim of the Croats to take over the territory of the two province
s while the world's attention was focused on Srebrenica
. On April 20, Gaćice, a village to the south-east of Stari Vitez, was attacked by the HVO and soon after that the duty officer of the Viteška Brigade reported that the "village of Gaćice has been 70 per cent done" and would probably be under control by the end of the day.
Under the chairmanship of the ECMM, on April 21, 1993 negotiations took place between the Croatian Defence Council
and Bosnian Army with the aim of securing a cessation of the fighting and separation of the forces. On April 25, 1993, at a meeting in Zagreb
, between President Izetbegović
and Mate Boban
, an agreement for an immediate ceasefire was reached.
s and human shield
s, and forced to dig trenches. As a result of the latter activity, a number were killed or wounded.
. Bosniak civilians and members of Bosnian Territorial Defence were detained in the camp on two occasions: first, after the Croatian Defence Council
attack on the municipality in January 1993 and, secondly, after the attacks in the Lašva Valley in April 1993. In January several hundred Bosniak men were detained. In May 1993, 79 detainees were listed. Conditions in the camp were atrocious. The cells were small and over-crowded, hygiene
was very poor and the food was inadequate. The detainees were subjected to beatings. Sounds of screams were played on the loudspeakers at night. HVO forced detainees from Kaonik to dig trenches at various places. According to a witness, 26 of those taken during his time did not return.
, then the cinema hall) were also used after April 16, 1993, for the detention of some 200-300 Bosniak men of all ages, who had been rounded up. The complex was guarded by HVO soldiers in uniform, some being members of the military police
. Prison
ers were beaten during their stay and taken out to dig trenches and some did not return.
A detention centre was also established in Vitez Veterinary Station and was used for the first few days of the conflict in Vitez. There were about 40 Bosniaks detained in the basement and around 70 people were detained in total: the guards did not provide the detainees with any food but the detainees’ families could bring food for them. The detainees were taken to dig trenches at Krušćica, where two were killed.
Dubravica Elementary School was an important centre for the detention of over 300 Bosniaks by the HVO between April 16–30, 1993. Some were killed and others wounded, while some suffered physical mistreatment and humiliation
while digging trenches. Anto Breljaš, a Croat soldier confirmed as a witness
in the Kordić trial, that there were about 350 Bosniak prisoners (men, women and children) in the school. Women and children were separated from the men. The former were kept in the classrooms and the latter in the gym
nasium. Military prisoners were kept in the basement and 15 of them were killed. In the gymnasium there was not enough air; there was inadequate food and no medical treatment. The detainees were mistreated and would be used as human shields and for trench-digging in the area near the school and Kula. This all led the witness to protest against the mistreatment of prisoners.
Accused by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
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...
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:...
on Bosnian Muslim (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...
) civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s in the Lašva Valley
Lašva Valley
A region used to characterize some parts of Central Bosnia, the Lašva Valley is understood to be defined geographical by the Lašva River's route. It is a tributary of the Bosna River which travels from Travnik through Vitez but also touches Busovača, Kiseljak, Novi Travnik and Travnik.-Ancient...
region of 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...
. The campaign, planned 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 camp
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
s, 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,...
.
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. Further concluding that the Croatian Army was involved in the campaign, the ICTY defined the events as an international conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and 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 ...
.
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.
Background
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...
, the objectives within Croatia were shared by the Croats 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 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. 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
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.
Discrimination
During 1992, the Bosniak authorities and civilians of VitezVitez
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...
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,...
were regularly discriminated
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
against. Conditions became so onerous for Bosniak civilians that many of them decided to leave the area and move to municipalities where they would be in the majority. Those who nevertheless chose to remain in those municipalities had to accept that they would be subject to persecution by a political and military regime increasingly hostile to them. The first destruction of mosques and Bosniak homes, the first murders of civilians, and the first acts of pillage occurred at this time.
Vitez
In April 1992, the leader of the HDZ in Vitez, Anto Valenta, told the municipality's Bosniak representatives that they should take their orders from the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. On May 20, 1992, a Bosnian Army soldier was killed in front of the Vitez Hotel while two others were captured and beaten. In June 1992, Croat military formations took over the headquarters in Vitez and the Municipal Assembly building and raised the flags of Herzeg-Bosnia and of Croatia. Later, in November 1992, the municipalityMunicipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
introduced new taxes and asked members of staff to sign a declaration of allegiance to the new Croat Government, threatening those that did not obey with dismissal. Many Bosniaks were refused access to public institutions because they had refused to sign the declaration and they were unable to get the laissez-passer necessary to drive on the roads that the Croat forces had taken over.
Busovača
The same practice was also carried out in BusovačaBusovaca
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...
. On May 10, 1992, Dario Kordić and Ivo Brnada decided to revoke the arms distribution agreement which had been concluded with the Bosnian Territorial Defence, seize all weapons, and take control of the barracks. They then issued an ultimatum to all Bosnian military units calling on them to surrender their weapons and to place themselves under Croat command. By a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
dated May 22, 1992, Dario Kordić and Florian Glavočević proceeded to give the HVO general administrative powers over the municipality. After those two decrees had been adopted, Bosnian state organs were abolished and Bosniaks were progressively excluded from local political structures. Croat forces also seized the television broadcasting station at Skradno and created its own local radio and television to carry propaganda, seized the public institutions, raised the Croatian flag over public institution buildings, and imposed the Croatian Dinar as the unit of currency. During this time, Busovača's Bosniaks were forced to sign an act of allegiance to the Croat authorities, fell victim to numerous attacks on shops and businesses and, gradually, left the area out of fear that they would be the victims of mass crimes.
Kiseljak
As in the municipalities of Vitez and Busovača, a similar pattern was applied in KiseljakKiseljak
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,...
from April to November 1992, demonstrating the Croat authorities' resolve to take political and military control of the Kiseljak municipality. The authorities created a radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
which broadcast nationalist propaganda. General Blaškić expelled the Bosnian Territorial Defence from the former Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav 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) buildings on May 14, 1992.
Ethnic cleansing
In June 1992, the focus switched to Novi TravnikNovi Travnik
Novi Travnik is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located south of Travnik on the road to Bugojno...
where Croat efforts to gain control were met with resistance. On June 18, 1992 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 forces 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 government institutions, pledge allegiance to a newly established Croat authority, subordinate Bosnian forces to the HVO and expel Bosniak refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s - all within 24 hours. On June 19, 1992 armed conflict broke out. The fighting lasted two hours and the headquarters of the Bosnian Territorial Defence, the elementary school and the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
were attacked and damaged by local Croat units, including units from Vitez and Busovača. Bosniaks in the lower part of the town were subjected to killings, rape and other mistreatment.
During August 1992, the Croat forces launched attacks on the villages of Duhri, Potkraj, Radanovići and Topole and these attacks involved more violent incidents, including the setting of Bosniak homes on fire and vandalising their businesses. Many civilians who feared future attacks started to leave the Kiseljak enclave at this time.
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, Novi Travnik, 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, Vitez, 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.
By December 1992, the situation in Central Bosnia was this: 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...
. Much of Central Bosnia therefore was in the hands of the Croats.
Gornji Vakuf shelling
Gornji VakufGornji 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...
is a town 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.
On January 10, 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the HVO
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Blaškić and Dario Kordić 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. 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
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. The HVO
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
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. 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 warriors in Gornji Vakuf (commonly known as Mujahideen) and that his soldiers did not see any.
Busovača massacre
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 busBus
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.
Ahmići massacre
Ahmići massacre was the culmination of the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing. It is the biggest massacre committed during the conflict between CroatsCroats
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.
The attack began at 05:30 hours on April 16, 1993. The Croat Defence Council (HVO) shelled the Bosniak part of 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...
and moved in killing many Bosniaks, including women, children and the elderly. They destroyed a large number of Bosniak homes, and caused extensive damage to the village's two mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s. An estimate puts the death toll at 120. The youngest was a three-month-old baby, who was machine-gunned to death in his crib, and the oldest was an 81-year-old woman.
Background
On April 3, 1993, the Croat leadership met in 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...
to discuss the implementation of the Vance-Owen Peace Plan. The Croats decided to implement the creation of "Croatian Provinces" (Provinces 3, 8 and 10) placing the Bosnian armed forces under the command of the General Staff of the HVO. On April 4, according to Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, the HVO HQ in Mostar set a deadline
Time limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestone goals....
for President Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
to sign the above agreement and stated: If Izetbegović fails to sign this agreement by April 15, the HVO will unilaterally enforce its jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
in cantons three, eight and ten. In a message from 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...
, Ignac Koštroman and Anto Valenta, the Croat people were told to display more Croatian flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
s on buildings.
An organized attack
On Friday, April 16, 1993 at 05:30 hours, Croatian forces simultaneously attacked VitezVitez
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:...
, Stari Vitez, 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...
, Nadioci, Šantici, Pirići, Novaci, Putiš and Donja Večeriska. General Blaškić spoke of 20 to 22 sites of simultaneous combat all along the road linking Travnik, Vitez and Busovača. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that this was a planned attack against the Bosniak civilian population. The attack was preceded by several political declarations announcing that a conflict between Croatian forces and Bosnian forces was imminent. On the day of the attack, telephone lines had been cut because all communication exchanges in the municipality of Vitez were under HVO control.
Croat inhabitants of those villages were warned of the attack and some of them were involved in preparing it. Croat women and children had been evacuated on the eve of the fighting. The method of attack displayed a high level of preparation. The attacks in the built-up areas, such as those carried out in the Ahmići area were operations planned in minute detail with the aim of killing or driving out the Bosniak population, resulting in a massacre. On the evening of April 15, unusual HVO troop movements had been noticed. On the morning of April 16, the main roads were blocked by Croat troops. According to several international observers, the attack occurred from three sides and was designed to force the fleeing population towards the south where elite marksmen
Marksmen
The Foggy River Boys was the name of two related American male singing quartets from southern Missouri specializing in spiritual and country music in the 1940s and 50s.-1940s group:...
with particularly sophisticated weapons shot those escaping. Other troops, organised in small groups of about five to ten soldiers, went from house to house setting them on fire and killing the residents. Around one hundred soldiers who took part in the operation. The attack resulted in the massacre of the Bosniak villagers and the destruction of the village. Among the more than 100 who died were 32 women and 11 boys and girls under the age of 18. The aim of the HVO artillery was to support the 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...
and destroy structures which the infantry couldn't. The mosque, for example, was hit by a shot from a powerful weapon. Later the minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
was blown up by Bralo and Jukić.
Murders of civilians
Most of the men were shot at point blank range. Some men had been rounded up and then killed by Croatian soldiers. Twenty or so civilians were also killed in Donji Ahmići as they tried to flee the village. The fleeing inhabitants had to cross an open field before getting to the main road. About twenty bodies of people killed by very precise shots were found in the field. Military experts concluded that they had been shot by marksmen. Other bodies were found in the houses so badly charred they could not be identified and in positions suggesting that they had been burned alive. The victims included many women and children.An 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...
observer said he had seen the bodies of children who, from their position, seemed to have died in agony in the flames: "some of the houses were absolute scenes of horror, because not only were the people dead, but there were those who were burned and obviously some had been burned with flame launchers, which had charred the bodies and this was the case of several of the bodies". According to the ECMM report, at least 103 people were killed during the attack on Ahmići.
Destruction of property
According to the Centre for Human Rights 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...
, 180 of the existing 200 Bosniak houses in Ahmići were burned during the attack. The Commission on Human Rights made the same finding in its report dated May 19, 1993. According to the ECMM practically all the Bosnian Muslim houses in the villages of Ahmići, Nadioci, Pirići, Sivrino Selo, Gaćice, Gomionica, Gromiljak and Rotilj had been burned. According to ECMM observer "it was a whole area that was burning". Several religious buildings were destroyed. Two mosques were deliberately mined and given the careful placement of the explosives inside the buildings. Furthermore, the mosque in Donji Ahmići was destroyed by explosives laid around the base of its minaret.
The troops involved
The troops involved in the attack included the Military Police Fourth Battalion and, in particular, the Džokeri Unit. The Džokeri (Jokers), an anti-terrorist squad with twenty or so members, were created in January 1993 from within the Military Police on the order of Zvonko Voković, whose mission was to carry out special assignments such as sabotageSabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
, stationed at the bungalow in Nadioci. Other participants included the Vitezovi, the Viteška brigade of the municipality of Vitez, the Nikola Šubić Zrinski brigade of Busovača, together with Domobrani units (units set up in each village in accordance with a decision from Mostar dated February 8, 1993) stationed at Ahmići, Šantići, Pirići and Nadioci. Many witnesses in the Blaškić case also referred to soldiers in camouflage uniforms being present, wearing the emblem of the Croatian Army. Several Croat inhabitants of these villages also participated in the attack. They were members of the Domobrani such as Slavko Miličević for the Donji Ahmići sector, Žarko Papić for the Zume area, Branko Perković in Nadioci, Zoran Kupreškić in Grabovi (an area in the centre of Ahmići), Nenad Šantić and Colic in Šantići.
Denial
After the massacre, Croat leaders, supported by propaganda efforts, tried to deny the massacre or to blame other sides in the Bosnian War. Dario KordićDario 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...
denied to Payam Akhavan, an investigator with the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, that the HVO were involved in the Ahmići massacre; indeed, he said that his men, as good Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, would never commit such acts and blamed the 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...
or the Muslims themselves: according to him, no investigation was necessary. A similar response was given by general 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...
to British Colonel Stewart in Kordić's presence.
Vitez massacre
In the early morning of April 16, 1993 at about 5:45 to 6:00 a.m. Bosniak areas of Vitez and Krušćica were attacked by Croat artillery, which increased during the morning and included mortar fire of various calibre. It was the first coordinated offensiveOffensive (military)
An offensive is a military operation that seeks through aggressive projection of armed force to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational or tactical goal...
in the area with attacks happening simultaneously up and down the valley. According to professional military opinion of a British colonel, the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been taken by surprise. HVO soldiers in camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s entered the streets of Vitez, arresting Bosniaks and killing them in their apartments. The prominent Bosniaks of the town were arrested. Anto Breljaš, a former member of the Vitezovi Unit, said that the Viteška Brigade of HVO and the Vitezovi attacked Stari Vitez but the Vitezovi did not take part in the 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...
as a unit, although one or two individuals may have done so.
The two villages of Donja Večeriska and Gornja Večeriska near Vitez were attacked on April 16, 1993. On the night of April 15, 1993, most Croats left Donja Večeriska. Nonetheless, an attack was not expected by Bosniaks since the Croats had evacuated the village several times before. The shelling started at 5:30 a.m. with an anti-aircraft gun shooting from the factory nearby. Grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s were thrown into the houses and the residents and others were then arrested and beaten. The majority of Bosniak houses were burned. At least eight persons were killed in the attack and the village was destroyed by explosives and fire.
In all, 172 Bosniaks in the Vitez municipality were killed and 5,000 expelled, (1,200 having been detained): 420 buildings were destroyed, together with three mosques, two Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and two schools.
Stari Vitez terrorist attack
The fighting in Vitez continued after April 16, 1993. The old town of Stari Vitez (or Mahala as it called) remained in BosnianBosnia 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...
hands. However, the HVO surrounded it and subjected it to siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
and attack from April 1993 to February 1994. The period was characterized by confrontations of varying intensity, in particular by a violent attack on July 18, 1993 when a great many homemade weapons known as "baby bombs" were fired on Stari Vitez and killed many Bosniaks. That quarter of the town was also targeted by multi-tube rocket-launchers and mortars.
On April 18, 1993 a tanker containing 500 kilograms of explosives exploded near the mosque in Stari Vitez, destroying the offices of the Bosnian War Presidency, killing at least six people and injuring 50 others. The ICTY accepted that this action was a piece of pure terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
committed by elements within the Croat forces, as an attack on the Bosniak population of Stari Vitez.
Busovača villages
The villages of Lončari, Merdani and Putiš are in the area to the east of Ahmići and north of Busovača. After the attacks on the villages in January 1993, a significant number of the civilian population went to 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...
but, over the weeks and months that followed, many of them moved back. The villages were then attacked by the HVO in April. The nearby village of Putiš had been attacked on April 15. In the afternoon of April 16, 1993 masked Croat soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s attacked the village of Očehnići by firing incendiary
Incendiary ammunition
-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...
bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
s into the houses. Within half an hour all the Bosniak houses were burning. The villagers were unarmed and did not put up any resistance. According to witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es, Paško Ljubičić, later accused of war crimes by ICTY, was the leader of the unit that had attacked the village and that he had been ordered to do so by brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier 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....
Duško Grubešić, commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the Zrinski Brigade of HVO, to cleanse Muslims from the area. Around twenty men from Lončari were detained and taken to Kaonik on April 16, 1993. Upon arrival they were lined up and their valuables were stolen by HVO soldiers.
Kiseljak villages
On April 18, 1993, the Bosniak villages of the Kiseljak municipality came under attack. The background to the attacks was an order by colonel Tihomir BlaškićTihomir 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...
to an HVO brigade to capture two of the villages where all enemy forces were to be placed under HVO command. The villages of Gomionica, Svinjarevo and Behrići (which were all close to each other and connected by the main road) were attacked by the HVO, together with Rotilj, Gromiljak, Polje Višnjica and other Bosniak villages in this part of the Kiseljak municipality. The Bosniak population of these villages was either killed or expelled, houses and mosques were set on fire and, in Svinjarevo and Gomionica, houses were plundered. In the case of Rotilj the Bosnian Territorial Defence forces (TO) were asked to surrender their gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s before the HVO shelled the village. As a result the lower part of the village was set on fire, twenty houses or barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
s were destroyed and seven civilians were killed.
The HVO launched its attack on the village of Svinjarevo by firing 60, 80 and 120 millimetre mortars and anti-aircraft weapons. As soon as the shelling stopped, soldiers from the Bosnian Territorial Defence organised the evacuation
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
of about 200 civilians from the village. The 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...
entered Svinjarevo and the neighbouring villages of Rauševac, Puriševo, Japojrevo and Jehovac, torched several houses belonging to Bosnian Muslims and killed ten civilians. The soldiers also took civilians to the Kiseljak barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
where they were imprisoned for several weeks. The attacks carried on until April 23, 1993.
When 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...
Monitors visited the villages they found almost all the Bosnian Muslims had left, their houses had been burned and they concluded that 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....
had taken place in the area. The ICTY found that 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...
was involved in these attacks in a municipality about 25 kilometers from Busovača. The attacks occurred two days after the attacks on the Bosniak villages of the Lašva Valley and were part of the pattern
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
of attacks on the Bosnian Muslims of Central Bosnia. Blaškić would not have launched the attacks without political approval which meant the approval of the local leadership in the person of Dario Kordić.
Zenica massacre
The ICTY accepted that the market placeMarket Place
Market Place is the financial programme broadcast Monday to Friday at 10:30pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl....
in 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...
was shelled by HVO
HVO
- Organizations :*Croatian Defence Council , a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War*Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a unit of the US Geological Survey...
on April 19, 1993 from the village of Putičevo, 15 kilometres from Zenica, killing 15 people and injuring another 50. The 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 landed in three groups of two, at 12:10 p.m., 12:24 p.m. and 12:29 p.m. Two pieces of 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...
were used: D-30 J Howitzers which are hand-loaded and which have a slow rate of fire. It was a professional piece of artillery work with the fire being adjusted by an observer. Two Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
members of the 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...
, visited the scene shortly after the shelling and took photographs. These photographs show scenes of devastation
Devastation
Devastation is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Digitalo Studios and released in 2003.The game takes place in an impoverished, dystopian near-future Earth, pitting an underground group of rebels against an oppressive, all-powerful mega-corporation...
in the market area, bodies lying on the ground, destroyed cars, a demolished bus shelter and damaged buildings. Croats blamed Serbs for the massacre, but ICTY discarded such claims during Dario Kordić trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
.
Ceasefire
On April 18, Tihomir BlaškićTihomir 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...
ordered Stjepan Tuka, a moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
HVO officer and commander in Fojnica
Fojnica
Fojnica is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located west of the capital Sarajevo. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River, tributary of the river Bosna...
, to attack Dusina. Tuka, however, did not carry out the order as he hoped for an agreement
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
and followed a policy of compromise in Fojnica where peace had been maintained. The result was his dismissal
Termination of employment
-Involuntary termination:Involuntary termination is the employee's departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being "fired" and "laid off." To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee's...
, despite protests from the local HVO and other organizations.
On April 19 the ECMM reported a sharp deterioration
Deterioration
Deterioration is a term now commonly used in health care, to describe worsening of a patient's condition. It is often used as a shortened form of 'deterioration not recognised or not acted upon'. Much work to reduce harm from deterioration has been undertaken by the National Patient Safety Agency...
of the situation in Central Bosnia, a possible explanation being the suspected aim of the Croats to take over the territory of the two province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s while the world's attention was focused on 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,...
. On April 20, Gaćice, a village to the south-east of Stari Vitez, was attacked by the HVO and soon after that the duty officer of the Viteška Brigade reported that the "village of Gaćice has been 70 per cent done" and would probably be under control by the end of the day.
Under the chairmanship of the ECMM, on April 21, 1993 negotiations took place between 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:...
and Bosnian Army with the aim of securing a cessation of the fighting and separation of the forces. On April 25, 1993, at a meeting in 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...
, between President Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
and 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:...
, an agreement for an immediate ceasefire was reached.
Camps
The ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case found that Bosniaks were systematically subjected to arbitrary imprisonment for which there was no justification. The assertion that they were detained for security reasons, or for their own safety, was found to be without foundation. While detained, Bosniaks were subjected to conditions which varied from camp to camp, but which were generally inhuman. The detainees were, without any justification, used as hostageHostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s and human shield
Human shield
Human shield is a military and political term describing the deliberate placement of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. It may also refer to the use of civilians to literally shield combatants during attacks, by forcing the civilians to march in...
s, and forced to dig trenches. As a result of the latter activity, a number were killed or wounded.
Kaonik camp
Kaonik camp was located five kilometres north of BusovačaBusovaca
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...
. Bosniak civilians and members of Bosnian Territorial Defence were detained in the camp on two occasions: first, after 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:...
attack on the municipality in January 1993 and, secondly, after the attacks in the Lašva Valley in April 1993. In January several hundred Bosniak men were detained. In May 1993, 79 detainees were listed. Conditions in the camp were atrocious. The cells were small and over-crowded, hygiene
Hygiene
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
was very poor and the food was inadequate. The detainees were subjected to beatings. Sounds of screams were played on the loudspeakers at night. HVO forced detainees from Kaonik to dig trenches at various places. According to a witness, 26 of those taken during his time did not return.
Vitez detention facilities
The Vitez Cinema is part of a complex variously called "the Cinema", "Cultural Centre" or "Workers’ University". During the war, this complex housed the headquarters of the Viteška Brigade. Parts of it (first the basementBasement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
, then the cinema hall) were also used after April 16, 1993, for the detention of some 200-300 Bosniak men of all ages, who had been rounded up. The complex was guarded by HVO soldiers in uniform, some being members of the military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
. Prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
ers were beaten during their stay and taken out to dig trenches and some did not return.
A detention centre was also established in Vitez Veterinary Station and was used for the first few days of the conflict in Vitez. There were about 40 Bosniaks detained in the basement and around 70 people were detained in total: the guards did not provide the detainees with any food but the detainees’ families could bring food for them. The detainees were taken to dig trenches at Krušćica, where two were killed.
Dubravica Elementary School was an important centre for the detention of over 300 Bosniaks by the HVO between April 16–30, 1993. Some were killed and others wounded, while some suffered physical mistreatment and humiliation
Humiliation
Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It can be brought about through bullying, intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by embarrassment if a person is revealed to have...
while digging trenches. Anto Breljaš, a Croat soldier confirmed as a witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
in the Kordić trial, that there were about 350 Bosniak prisoners (men, women and children) in the school. Women and children were separated from the men. The former were kept in the classrooms and the latter in the gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium. Military prisoners were kept in the basement and 15 of them were killed. In the gymnasium there was not enough air; there was inadequate food and no medical treatment. The detainees were mistreated and would be used as human shields and for trench-digging in the area near the school and Kula. This all led the witness to protest against the mistreatment of prisoners.
Individual war crimes trials
Accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia:- Zlatko Aleksovski (7 years in prison)
- Tihomir BlaškićTihomir BlaškicTihomir 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...
(45 years in prison, later sentenced to 9 years) - Miroslav Bralo (20 years in prison)
- Mario Čerkez (6 years in prison)
- Anto Furundžija (10 years in prison)
- Drago Josipović (15 years in prison, reduced to 12 years on appeal)
- Dario KordićDario KordicDario 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...
(25 years in prison) - Zoran Kupreškić (10 years in prison, later acquitted on appeal)
- Mirjan Kupreškić (8 years in prison, later acquitted on appeal)
- Vlatko Kupreškić (acquitted)
- Paško Ljubičić (10 years in prison)
- Zoran Marinić (indictment withdrawn)
- Dragan Papić (acquitted)
- Pero Skopljak (indictment withdrawn)
- Ivan Šantić (indictment withdrawn)
- Vladimir Šantić (25 years in prison, reduced to 18 years on appeal)
Accused by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
- Paško Ljubičić (10 years in prison)
- Krešo Lučić (6 years in prison, (KreševoKreševoKreševo 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...
events during Lašva Valley ethnic cleansingEthnic cleansingEthnic 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....
in April 1993 as a part of widespread and systematic attack against Bosniak civilian population)
External links
- 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: Summary of Miroslav Bralo verdict
- HRW: Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
- Sud BiH: Paško Ljubičić indictment
- Sud BiH: Krešo Lučić indictment
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