(25) 26 Mar 93:According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, during a visit on March 31 to Bosnian Serb-controlled Batkovic camp, delegates of the ICRC were informed that 17 detainees might have lost their lives on March 26 when the vehicle transporting them for work at the front was ambushed. Three surviving detainees were able to speak in private with the ICRC delegates.
The ICRC has observed in the past that detainees were being forced to work at the front line. The ICRC noted that to send detainees into a combat zone where they might come under fire is a violation of the provisions of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions. The ICRC also reminded the parties to the conflict that they are responsible at all times for the detainees' safety, and that it is prohibited to compel detainees to do work of a mil
itary nature or destined to serve a military purpose. (International Committee of the Red Cross)
(26) May-Jun 92:
A 26-year-old Muslim, along with family members, was evicted from her family home in Kozarac by Serb militia on May 25, 1992.
After having been held three nights in a school in Trnopolje, she was moved to a local private Muslim home. In June, she was able to visit the school each day to bring food to her husband and brother. During these visits, she regularly saw Serbs who had been neighbors roaming the camp (the school and its grounds) and beating prisoners. The first person on a list of Serbs she identified as participants in those beatings was once a classmate of hers.
On her last night in Trnopolje, about June 25, she along with other women and children were moved to the movie theater. There were about 500 to 600 women and children inside. At about 10:00 pm, two men arrived and picked out three women. There were about 10 other Serb men waiting for them outside. At about 6:00 or 7:00 am, one of three women returned to the movie theater, holding the wall with one hand and her stomach with the other, bent over, with swollen face, black and blue marks, and crying. The other two women were never seen again. (Department of State)
(27) 11 Jun 93:Bosnian Croat forces set up roadblocks and mines on a mountain road going through Nova Bila, stalling a humanitarian aid convoy that was moving east from central Bosnia. According to an UNPROFOR spokesperson:
"The ill-fated convoy then met with further resistance when 24 of the trucks were stopped at Nova Bila and hit by mortars.""(Reuters)
(28) l Jun 93:
Bosnian Serb forces turned back UNHCR humanitarian aid convoys for the eastern Bosnian enclaves of Gorazde and Srebrenica. The Srebrenica convoy was stopped at the border crossing at Zvornik without explanation; the Gorazde convoy was stopped by local Bosnian Serb officials in Sekovici who told them "to get the hell out.''
Bosnian Serb forces surrounding Srebrenica continued to prevent access by UN specialists to the town's water purification system. The regular water supply was contaminated and could not be restored without such access and springs were running dry. (Department of State)
(29) May-Jun 93:
Renegade forces of Bosnian Croat and Muslim armies have planted mines along roads used primarily for humanitarian aid convoys and journalists. (The Washington Times)
(30) 28 May 93:
Bosnian Muslim gunmen fired on a humanitarian aid convoy of Russian vehicles and drivers on the road between Pale and Sarajevo. (Department of State)
(31) 24 May 93:
Bosnian Croat gunmen prevented a UN humanitarian aid convoy from delivering food to the Muslim village of Kruscica. The convoy was forced to return to Vitez, where it had distributed food to Croats earlier in the day. (Reuters)
(32) 20 May 93:
Bosnian Muslim forces barred an UNPROFOR convoy access to the Croatian village of Kostajnica, in the Konjic district. The convoy was required to return to Jablanica. (Department of State)
(33) 17 May 93:
Bosnian Serb forces fired on Muslims attempting to collect air-dropped humanitarian aid supplies inside a UN-declared safe area in eastern Bosnia According to a spokesperson for UNPROFOR:
"In Srebrenica air-dropped relief bundles have been landing near the line of confrontation and Serb forces have fired upon some residents as they tried to retrieve them." (Reuters)
(34) 13 May 93:
Bosnian Croat forces barred the UNHCR from delivering food and other supplies to about 1,475 Muslim civilians detained at Rodic military camp, near the Mostar heliodrome. The Bosnian Croats on May 9, 1993, had forcibly transported more than 1,000 Muslim woman and children out of Mostar.
Conditions at the camp were extremely uncomfortable but not life-threatening. While isolated cases of abuse appear to have occurred during detection, most detainees volunteered that they were being treated well by their jailers, even describing them as kindly and concerned for the detainees' welfare. In general, the main difficulties facing the detainees were extreme over crowding, insufficient food, and inadequate hygiene. (Department of State, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times)
(35) 12 May 93:
An UNPROFOR helicopter was struck by a single small arms round from an unknown location following the evacuation of some 35 wounded from Zepa, forcing it to make an emergency landing about seven kilometers east of Trodor. (Department of State)
(36) 11 May 93:
A Spanish UNPROFOR lieutenant was seriously wounded in the neck, arms, and leg while trying to move blood and medical supplies into Mostar during fighting between Bosnian Croatians and Muslims. (Reuters)
(37) 10 May 93:
Bosnian Croat forces (HVO) assaulted a UNHCR humanitarian assistance convoy in Prozor. HVO soldiers pulled the Bosnian drivers from their trucks and beat them. Four drivers were injured and six vehicles were damaged extensively. (Department of State)
(38) 27 Apr 93:
Unidentified forces wounded a British aid worker and a Bosnian driver when they shelled a humanitarian assistance convoy three kilometers north of Visoko on the road to Zenica. The shelling also damaged another truck in the convoy, which was returning empty from Tuzla. (Paris AFP)
(39) 30 Apr 93:
Bosnian Serb forces continued to prohibit doctors from entering Srebrenica, and specifically turned back a team of physicians from Medecins Sans Frontieres, which had attempted to accompany a UNHCR convoy. The medical situation in Srebrenica deteriorated; scabies was rampant, particularly among children. (Department of State)
(40) 19 Apr 93:
A UNHCR humanitarian assistance convoy was stoned while traveling through Bosnian Serb-held territory on the way to Srebrenica. Despite protective steel grills over the windshields, several truck windshields were broken and two drivers were injured. UNHCR reported that blocks weighing 15-20 pounds were thrown at the trucks.
In recent instances, Bosnian Serb police have stood by and watched as youths pelted the UNHCR trucks from elevated embankments as they drove past. UN convoys going to Tuzla also encountered instances of stoning. (Department of State)
(41) 8 Jun 93:Bosnian Muslim militiamen fired machine guns at Bosnian Croat civilians as they ran from their homes in Guca Gora, a village northeast of Travnik, according to UN peace-keeping officials. UN troops saw Muslims shooting civilians as they fought from house to house, and confirmed that hundreds of Croat civilians had died as a result of the Muslim action. A UN spokesperson said:
"There is strong evidence of atrocities. For example, a door forced, apparently kicked open, and the civilian occupant found dead in the garden shot in the head." (Department of State, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Reuters)
(42) 4 Jun 93:
A mortar attacked one of four buses carrying 95 Muslim and Croatian men, women, and children to Tuzla, at a Croatian forces checkpoint south of Vitez, in an area where Muslims and Croatians were fighting each other. The mortar killed two of the passengers and injured an Austrian humanitarian aid worker, Jasmin Arzberger. (Reuters)
(43) 2 Jun 93:
An unidentified sniper killed Dominique Lonneux, a Belgian journalist working for a Mexican television service, while he was traveling with a UN humanitarian aid convoy that was traveling near Dreznica, outside Mostar. The car in which Lonneux was traveling was clearly marked "TV." (Paris AFP)
(44) 1 Jun 93:
Bosnian Serb mortar crews shelled a soccer game in the Sarajevo suburb of Dobrinja where about 200 Bosnians, celebrating a Muslim holiday, were watching the game. The attack killed at least 11 people and wounded at least 80, about 25 of those with life-threatening injuries.
Bosnian Serbs shelled a 12-truck humanitarian aid convoy carrying food and heading for Maglaj, killing five -- including two Danish drivers -- and wounding seven, some seriously. According to a UNPROFOR statement:
"Three things are very clear. This has been a deliberate attack on an UNHCR convoy. The attack was from the direction of Serbian-held territory, and tank rounds were used."
Snipers seriously wounded two French soldiers who were guarding Sarajevo airport; one sustained serious head injuries. (Department of State, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Paris AFP, Los Angeles Times The Washington Times)
(45) 29 May 93:
A gang of about 30 gunmen wearing Bosnian Army uniforms with Muslim insignia, shot and killed three Italian humanitarian assistance workers on the road between Gorni Vakuf and Novi Travnik, northeast of Split, at a place known as the "fish hatchery."
They were in a group of five Italians who had been transporting food in Bosnia with the Food for Aid organization, pulled from their vehicles, and robbed. The two survivors stated on June 1 in Grnica that the gunmen had fired at their feet as they ran from the ambush. The perpetrators of this crime are still unknown. (Department of State, The Washington Times, Reuters, API)
(46) 21 May 93:
Bosnian Serb forces fired on Sarajevo, killing four people and wounding more than 30, many of them children. The wounded included Deputy Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija who was shot in the leg. (API, Reuters)
(47) 25 Apr 93:
A UN Security Council mission to Srebrenica called the Muslim enclave "an open jailÓ"where Serbian forces were planning "slow-motion genocide." Serbian nationalist forces had cut off water and electricity supplies to Srebrenica, reportedly in retaliation for similar actions against Serbian villages earlier in the war, when the Muslims still controlled the source. (The New York Times)
(48) 22 Apr 93:
Gunfire from Croat troops near Gospic killed a Slovak member of UNPROFOR and wounded another peace-keeper. Another attack hit a Czech and Slovak UNPROFOR control point near Licki Osik. Fog made it difficult to determine whether this shelling had come from either the Croatian or Serbian forces. (API, Paris AFP)
(49) 16 Apr 93:
Unknown assailants launched a mortar attack that killed a Ukrainian soldier with the UN peacekeeping force while he was on patrol in the Grahoviste district of Sarajevo. (Reuters)
(50) 12 Apr 93:
Serb nationalist forces shelled Srebrenica twice on April 12, once from 2:15 pm to 3:20 pm, and the second time from 3:50 pm to 4:10 pm. Most or all of the dead were civilians, including 15 children.
Rounds fell first at the north end of town and proceeded toward the south end of town. At least 14 children were found dead in the school yard, where they had been playing football.
During the next barrage of direct shelling, a child of about six years of age was decapitated. The UNHCR representative who witnessed these attacks said:
"I will never be able to convey the sheer horror of the atrocity I witnessed on April 12. Suffice it to say that I did not look forward to closing my eyes at night for fear that I would relive the images of a nightmare that was not a dream."
As of April 13, total casualties in the town of Srebrenica were 56 dead and approximately 100 wounded. A senior UN official in Zagreb called the Srebrenica shelling a violation of international conventions prohibiting attacks on civilian targets. "It is an atrocity,"he said. (Department of State, API, The Washington Post, The New York Times)
(51) 9 Jun 93:Bosnian Serbs have detained hundreds of Croat males from the Travnik area at Manjaca camp. (Department of State)
(52) 20 May 93:
UN personnel discovered that both Bosnian Croats and Muslims were practicing ethnic cleansing in the southern Bosnian city of Mostar. According to a UNHCR spokesperson:
"Most of the ethnic cleansing is being done by the Croats, (but) there is evidence of Croatians being forced out of the Muslim area in Mostar also." (Paris AFP)
(53) 11 May 93:
Bosnian Croat forces used a large military ambulance -- marked with the distinctive red cross-- to move more than a dozen armed soldiers and a recoilless rifle into the Mostar area. (The New York Times)
(54) 11 May 93:
Bosnian Serb forces reopened a former prison camp, the ceramics factory at Keraterm, where they detained a large group of Muslim men from Prijedor. A Serbian civil servant, who had confirmed the action, said the Muslims were to be used as hostages in case of US military intervention. After a few days, some of the men were released after relatives had paid a ransom; many more reportedly remained. (Department of State, Hamburg DPA)
(55) 7 May 93:
Bosnian Serbs blew up the 1587 Ferhad-Pasha mosque and the 1587 Arnaudija mosque, both located in Banja Luka. Yugoslav President Cosic issued a statement calling the bombing an "act of barbarity" and "the final warning to all reasonable and responsible people on all warring sides to act resolutely, immediately and with all means at their disposal to stop the war and destruction." (The New York Times)
(56) May 93:
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the civilian population in Banja Luka is under constant pressure by armed groups who repeatedly beat, rob, and threaten persons belonging to minorities. The houses of such persons in Banja Luka and nearby villages are regularly attacked and burned by uncontrolled elements.
On May 2, a local Red Cross office in Banja Luka was destroyed by fire. On May 6, three mosques in Banja Luka were severely damaged by explosives. (International Committee of the Red Cross)
(57) 3 May 93:
Bosnian Serbs expelled about 230 Muslim men, women, and children from Banja Luka. The Muslims, who were sent by bus through the Serbian lines at Turbe to Travnik, were required to pay 100 German marks for each adult and 50 marks for each child prior to departure, and to sign away all their property. (Reuters, Paris AFP)
(58) Mar 93:
After having been detained in Bosnian Serb camps almost continuously from May through September 1992, a 42-year-old Bosnian Muslim was released upon the intervention of an influential Serbian friend.
The witness was not permitted to return to his home in Brcko, which had been "cleansed" of Muslims and Croatians, but forced to move to Bijeljina where he resided until mid-March 1993.
During this time, Bosnian Serb military and civilian authorities exercised great pressure; on the Muslim and Croatian population to resettle elsewhere. All Muslims lost their jobs and were subject to a curfew and to searches of their homes. They had no income and were not allowed to sell any of their property.
On March 14, 1993, two days before the witness's departure from the area, the Serbs blew up all six mosques in Bijeljina, completely destroying them. Subsequently, they removed all the remains and plowed over the area. By chance, the BBC learned of the razing of the mosques and was able to film the debris of one before it could be cleared away. (Department of State)
(59) 1992-93:
A 42-year-old Muslim described the leaders of the "exchange committee" for prisoners of war and civilian prisoners in Brcko.
The witness also described "mafia-like" organizations run by the "Arkanovci" to enrich themselves. One group, for example, controlled the bridge over the Sava River in Bosanski Raca, located 20 kilometers north of Bijeljina, where they demanded payment of 500-800 German marks for-each Bosnian who wanted to cross the bridge to Serbia. Groups of other military irregulars operated similar services" across the Drina River, east of Bijeljina.
In addition to controlling the bridges, Serbians also operated small boats. For a fee of up to 1,000 German marks for each person, and with the knowledge of local authorities, Muslims willing to resettle were transported across the river by the Serbs. Each group of Serbs (the "Arkanovci," "Draganovci," etc.) controlled their own territory and refrained from infringing on the territory of others. Under the guise of aiding the "voluntary resettlement" of the Muslims, Serbs robbed them of their last coin. Many people at all levels were involved in these practices. (Department of State)
(60) May-Jun 92:
A 45-year-old Bosnian Muslim witnessed the "ethnic cleansing" of Sanski Most.
Serbian authorities expelled all Bosnian Muslims from the local police forces by April 1992. Similarly, the locally stationed JNA detachments were purged of Muslims. By sometime in April, the Serbian-controlled militia demanded that all Sanski Most inhabitants turn in their weapons to the police.
On May 26-28, 1992, Sanski Most was subjected to intense bombardment. Up to 400 buildings were destroyed and all the mosques were dynamited. On May 27, the bombardment temporarily stopped and Muslims were told to gather in a field so they could be "protected" from the incoming fire. Approximately 2,000 people left their houses, reported to the authorities, and went to a sports arena. Once there, they were told to return to their homes and raise white flags over their houses to show they had no weapons and had "surrendered." About 3,000 Muslims were displaced in this phase of "cleansing."
The witness described some of the detention facilities in Sanski Most: the Betoniarka concrete factory, the Hasan Kikic school, the Gradska Dworana (used to house women), the Narodni Front school, and the Krinc factory. Additionally, people were locked in pigsties.
Up to four shifts of guards worked each day at Betoniarka, where the witness was detained. He recognized men from the civil militia, the Serbian reservist militia, and paramilitary groups, who administered beatings continuously. Some names of victims of these beatings were read off lists, others were former inhabitants from villages where Serbs had suffered casualties, and some were victims of private vendettas. (Department of State)
(61) May 92:
A 60-year-old Bosnian Muslim described the "ethnic cleansing" of his village of Borajno, which is located in the Cajnice district.
On May 10, Serbian forces from Plejvlja, across the border in Montenegro, came to Borajno asking everyone to surrender their weapons. On May 16, the soldiers ordered the Muslims to move to the other side of the village, at which time the Serbs bombed the empty houses. The next morning, the soldiers began shooting in the air and, by 3:00 pm, the commander of one of the local Serbian units ordered the Muslim to leave the village.
The villagers ran into the woods. Immediately thereafter, the Serbian forces started bombing the woods from the mountains. The witness was able to return to Borajno on May 18, but he found the village deserted. (Department of State)
(62) Apr-May 92:
A 50-year-old Bosnian Muslim witnessed the occupation of Doboj by some of Arkan's paramilitary groups. Some of these troops were native Serbs; others were from the Knin region in Croatia.
When the paramilitary forces first took over Doboj, they set up artillery next to the health center and shelled the city's two mosques and Roman Catholic church, setting them on fire. They ordered Croats and Muslims to remain indoors while they searched their homes, often arresting the men. The soldiers "inflicted terrible beatings" on some residents, and looted and burned during their forays, which continued until August. (Department of State)
(63) Apr 92: A Bosnian Muslim in her mid-thirties witnessed the bombardment of Zvornik by Yugoslav National Army (JNA) forces, the Serbs' rounding up of Muslim citizens, and their looting of Muslim homes.
In the beginning of April, the Serbian community began evacuating many of its citizens from Zvornik. On April 8, the witness saw Serbian snipers shooting at Muslim homes from apartments that had been vacated by local Serbs. JNA forces placed barricades in town.
The witness spent that night with a Serbian friend who had decided not to evacuate. During the night, JNA forces stationed in Celopek and Serbia proper bombed Zvornik. The next morning, the "Arkanovci" came by each house requesting to see people's identification. She witnessed Serbian soldiers driving through town in large trucks collecting Muslims out of the basements to which they had fled. The Muslims were put on the trucks with their hands above their heads. (Department of State)