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According to
the official results of the 1991 census, the Zenica district had
145,577 residents:
22,651 Croats
(15,6%)
80,377 Moslems (55,2%)
22,592 Serbs (15,5%)
19,957 others (13,7%)
The Serbian aggression against Bosnia-Herzegovina resulted in a
large number of refugees who found shelter in the Zenica district
after having been evicted from the Serb occupied sections of northwestern
Bosnia. The first signs of discrimination against Croats were recorded
at that time.
On September
29th 1992, the former YPA air force bombed the "Zeljezara"
installations and the village of Stranjane, which was mainly populated
by Croats. Two persons were killed and several other persons were
wounded.
The differences
between Croats and Moslems escalated on January 26th 1993 when B-H
Army soldiers attacked the Croat populated village of Dusina and
killed eight Croats. April
15th 1993, four
HVO soldiers were ambushed and killed in the section called Podbrijezje.
April 17th 1993
soldiers of the 3rd B-H Army Corps attacked HVO soldiers in the
city of Zenica and killed nine Croat civilians and thirteen HVO
soldiers. In addition they burnt down thirty Croat owned houses
and looted several hundred more.
Many Croat residents
of Zenica were deported to the camps "KPD Zenica" (the
former Zenica prison) and "Muzicka skola" (the former
Musical School in Zenica). On the same day, four Croat civilians
were killed and their bodies were burnt down in the village of Bilivode.
April 18th 1993,
a four year old girl of Croat nationality was killed in an attack
of B-H Army soldiers on the village of Kozarci, and her body was
set on fire in her family house.
Around April
25th 1993, an elderly woman of Serbian nationality was killed in
the village of Kozarci.
On June 8th
1993, sixteen Croat civilians were killed in the village of Susanj.
The Croat residents were mainly evicted from the occupied territory,
while some of them were deported to the Zenica prisons. The Croat
owned civilian property was looted, confiscated and/or destroyed.
002 B-H - ZENICA - January 26th 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Armed attack on civilians, maltreatment, killing
and groundless imprisonment of civilians.
TIME AND LOCATION:
January 26th 1993, 5:30 a.m.; village of Dusina (cca 15 kilometres
south of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED
CRIME: On January 26th 1993, around 5:30 a.m., B-H Army soldiers
attacked villagers of Dusina, who took shelter in basements of family
houses or in sheds. After the artillery attack, B-H Army soldiers
entered the village, and one of them found a witness in a shed and
forced him towards one house. Two Croat detainees stood in front
of this house (N.K. born 1938 and V.K. born 1940) along with a woman
(G.S., 65 years old, Serb by nationality). Although the ground was
covered with 10 centimetres of snow, B-H Army soldiers ordered the
detainees to take off their shoes and stand barefoot in the snow.
At the same time they beat two arrested Croats (N.K. and V.K.).
They cursed their mothers and said: "What are you going to
do now? This is Djamahiria and not Herzeg-Bosnia!"
After a while,
all four prisoners were taken to Stipe Kegelj's house and were locked
up in a room with another 50 civilians who had been brought there
earlier (women, children and the elderly), from the villages of
Dusina and Visnjica. All day long, guards in front of the house
kept changing, and all of them physically maltreated the prisoners.
Around 4:00
p.m., two B-H Army soldiers arrived and ordered nine male detainees
to go out of the house. Out of nine arrested men (all Croats by
nationality), three were HVO soldiers, while the other six were
civilians. One of the B-H Army soldiers separated a HVO soldier
Milenko Rajic, and took him in an unknown direction.
This incident
took place in the immediate vicinity of Ivica Kegelj's house. After
listing the detainees' personal data, the leader of the afore mentioned
six B-H Army soldiers said to them:
"Now, take
out one by one." Sporadic shots followed, and six prisoners
were executed.
The killed were
as follows:
1. Niko Kegelj
(born around 1938) - a civilian;
2. Stipo Kegelj (born around 1931) - a civilian;
3. Vinko Kegelj (born around 1940) - a civilian;
4. Pero Ljubicic (born around 1921) - a civilian;
5. Augustin Rados (born 1964) - HVO soldier;
6. Vojko Stanisic (born 1924) - a civilian.
Only a HVO soldier
(I.K.) and a witness survived the execution.
After carrying
out of the execution of six detainees, the perpetrators left, while
their leader ordered two survivors to return to the other imprisoned
civilians, to Stipe Kegelj's house.
A little bit
later, two B-H Army soldiers came into the house, took out I.K.
and the witness once again and ordered them to carry the bodies
of the executed men into Ivica Kegelj's garage. Apart from the bodies
of six executed men, they also found the bodies of two murdered
villagers of Dusina:
1. Drazenko
Kegelj (born 1972);
2. Frano Rajic (born around 1970).
After transferring
of the bodies into the garage, a B-H Army soldier ordered the witness
and I.K. to stand against the house wall, and then he fired two
bullets that hit the wall directly above their heads.
After this incident,
the witness and I.K.' arms were tied with wire, and they were taken
to the village of Lasva (cca 3 kilometres north of Dusina in the
direction of Zenica) along with other detainees, where they were
detained in a local school building.
There they found
the arrested Croats from the villages of Visnjica and Lasva. B-H
Army soldiers, among whom were Fahrudin Delic, Hajrudin Delic and
Ekrem Sisic separated Croat civilians from HVO soldiers. At about
3:00 a.m. on January 27th, 1993, and according to the military order
issued in Zenica, civilians were allowed to return to their villages.
PERPETRATORS:
B-H Army soldiers, among whom were:
1. Fahrudin
Delic;
2. Hajrudin Delic;
3. Ekrem Sisic.
EVIDENCE: A witness' written statement currently kept in the archives
of the Centre.
001 B-H - ZENICA
- April 15th 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Intentional killing.
TIME AND LOCATION: April 15th 1993; Podbrijezje (suburbs of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: On April 15th 1993 a group of B-H Army
soldiers stopped a personal vehicle with the following persons:
1. Zivko Totic
- the commander of the HVO Zenica Brigade;
2. Marko Ljubic (born 1972, Vinko's son) - a soldier of the HVO
Zenica Brigade;
3. Tihomir Ljubic (born 1970, Stjepan's son, from the village of
Stranjani) - a soldier of the HVO Zenica Brigade;
4. driver (unknown).
After stopping
the personal vehicle, B-H Army soldiers shot Marko and Tihomir Ljubic
without any warning. The victims did not even have time to get out
of the vehicle. After that, B-H Army soldiers arrested Zivko Totic,
the commander of the HVO Zenica Brigade and took him to the Zenica
prison. On April 17th 1993, the bodies of the aforementioned two
soldiers of the HVO Zenica Brigade (Marko and Tihomir Ljubic) were
buried at the local cemetery in the village of Stranjani.
PERPETRATORS:
B-H Army soldiers.
EVIDENCE: A
witness' written statement currently kept in the archives of the
Centre.
B-H - ZENICA - April 25th to May 1st, 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Murder.
TIME AND LOCATION: April 25th to May 1st, 1993, Village of Kozarci
(west of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: Marica Lukic (approximately 70 years
old) lived alone in the village of Kozarci. Members of the MOS (Muslim
armed forces which constitute a major part of the B-H Army) from
the village of Gradisce stabbed the elderly woman to death with
a knife. The crime took place after the village was occupied by
MOS forces from the village of Gradisce, some time between April
25th and May 1st, 1993.
PERPETRATORS: Members of the Muslim armed forces (an integral part
of the B-H Army) from the village of Gradisce.
EVIDENCE: Audio
tape recording of an interview with a witness, supplemented by a
written statement currently kept in the archives of the Department.
B-H - ZENICA
- April 25th to May 1st, 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Murder.
TIME AND LOCATION: April 25th to May 1st, 1993, village of Zalje
(west of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: Two Croatian civilians, Zdeno Zrnic(approximately
28 years old) and his daughter Sanja (approximately 3 years old)
were killed following the occupation of the village of Zalje by
the Third Corpus of the B-H Army in the period between April 25th
and May 1st, 1993.
PERPETRATORS:
Members of the Third Corpus of the B-H Army.
EVIDENCE: Audio
tape recording of an interview with a witness, supplemented by a
written statement currently kept in the archives of the Department.
010 B-H - ZENICA - April 25th to May 1st, 1993
DESCRIPTION OF REPORTED CRIME: Murder.
TIME AND LOCATION: April 25th to May 1st, 1993, village of Gornja
Zenica (south of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: Following the occupation of the village
of Gornja Zenica, three civilians of Croatian nationality were shot
and killed by automatic rifles by members of the Third Corpus of
the B-H Army from Gornja Zenica who were positioned in a summer
home. Subsequently, members of the Third Corpus of the B-H Army
from Gornja Zenica burned the bodies of the victims. Parts of the
bodies which were not burnt showed evidence of knife cuts. The victims
included: Mirko Latic (age 48), Luka Sestan(age 64) and Jozo Kristo
(age 73). The crimes took place in the period between April 25th
and May 1st, 1993.
PERPETRATORS:
Members of the Third Corpus of the B-H Army from Gornja Zenica.
EVIDENCE: Audio tape recording of an interview with a witness, supplemented
by a written statement currently kept in the archives of the Department.
B-H - ZENICA
- April 25, 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Attacks on civilians.
TIME AND LOCATION: April 25, 1993, 4:30 am, Zenica district.
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: Muslim forces launched an attack on Croatian
civilians on Sunday morning at 4:30 am. Civilians in the village
of Podbrezje were attacked first. The attack was launched from B-H
Army (MOS - Muslim Armed Forces) positions in the village of Gradisce.
Subsequently, the following Croatian villages came under fire: Zalje,
Grm, Dolac, Jagotice, Janjac, Konjevic, Bilivode, and Gornja Zenica.
Most of the Croatian civilian population managed to escape the attack,
however, there were several fatalities. A group o Croatian civilians
were taken by Muslim forces to detention centres in Zenica located
at the former conservatory of music and retirement home. The Muslim
attackers proceeded to loot and plunder Croatian homes and property.
PERPETRATORS:
Members of the B-H Army, Third Corpus (commander Enver Hadzihasanovic),
Brigade 314; "Green League" called "Zenica Hoodlums"
(under the command of Ervin Baresic, nicknamed "Strela");
"Patriotic League" (commander Ibrahim Puric); members
of MOS (commander Karalic from the village of Radinovic -Arnauti).
EVIDENCE: Audio
tape recording of an interview with a witness, supplemented by a
written statement kept in the archives of the Department.
B-H - ZENICA/TRAVNIK
- 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Maltreatment of prisoners.
TIME AND LOCATION: 1993, concentration camps in Zenica and near
Novi Travnik.
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: "After the ICRC confirmed the maltreatment
of 180 Croatians captured by Muslim forces and held in a concentration
camp near Novi Travnik, there were confirmed reports of abuse and
mistreatment of Croatian civilian prisoners from Zepce held in Zenica.
Also, there was a confirmed report that Alija Izetbegovic denied
the release of Pero Topic, a Croatian television news cameraman,
after being captured in the village of Kiseljak, near Zepce and
currently held in the former conservatory of music in Zenica.
PERPETRATORS:
Members of the Muslim army (B-H Army) and the civilian authorities
in the districts of Zenica and Travnik.
SOURCE OF INFORMATION:
Newspaper article in "Vecernji list", August 30, 1993,
page 7, titled "In Muslim Camps, 9,000 Croatians". Document
kept in the archives of the Department.
003 B-H - ZENICA
- June 8, 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Murder.
TIME AND LOCATION:
June 8, 1993, village of Susanj (west of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: B-H Army aggression against the village
of Susanj left 9 unarmed Croatian civilians dead and 7 Croatians
who attempted to resist the aggression. The following individuals
were executed by firing squad near the village: Vlado Markovic (born
1922, father's name Barisa); Dragan Vidosevic (born 1909, father's
name Mato); Niko Vidosevic (born 1922, father's name Stipo); and
Anto Vidosevic (born 1916, father's name Ante). They were buried
June 12, 1993 in Ovnak. Anto Markovic (born 1926, father's name
Mate), who was physically handicapped (confined to a wheelchair),
was killed by machine-gun fire while attempting to escape in a car.
He was buried June 12, 1993 in Ovnak. Drago Markovic (born 1933,
father's name Pavle) was killed by machine-gun fire and buried June
12, 1993 in Ovnak. Kazimir Markovic (born 1931, father's name Stipe)
was wounded by machine-gun fire. He died in Zenica hospital and
was buried on June 12, 1993 in Ovnak. Stanko Vidosevic (born 1931,
father'sname Pavle) was killed by small arms fire in a nearby forest,
where he was also buried June 14, 1993. Ilija Vidosevic (born 1912,
father's name Stipo) was shot point blank in the head and buried
on June 12, 1993 in Ovnak.
Croatians killed
during the attempt to resist Muslim aggression in the village of
Susanj include: Zoran Markovic (born 1956, father's name Jozo) was
killed in Ovnak and buried there on June 12, 1993; Rudo Markovic
(born 1951, father's name Zorko) bled to death as a result of a
severe leg wound and was buried on June 12, 1993 in Ovnak; Ilija
Markovic (born 1962, father's name Zorko) was executed after he
was wounded and disarmed; Jordan Vidosevic (born 1973, father's
name Tomo) was killed in the village and buried on June 12, 1993
in Ovnak; Zeljko Vidosevic (born 1970, father's name Ante) was killed
in the village and buried June 12, 1993 in Ovnak; Ivo Vuleta (born
1952, father's name Drago) was shot to death in the forest above
the village where his body still remains unburied; an unknown young
man was killed in the forest above the village and was buried June
14, 1993 in Ovnak.
PERPETRATORS:
Members of the B-H Army.
SOURCE OF INFORMATION: The Zenica Commission official report completed
following the investigation in the village of Susanj, June 18, 1993.
The report was published in the newspaper "Vjesnik", July
19, 1993, page 8, titled: "Seventy Lives - No Return".
Written document currently kept in the archives of the Department.
B-H - ZENICA
- June 8, 1993
DESCRIPTION
OF REPORTED CRIME: Forced displacement of the civilian population
(ethnic cleansing), destruction and looting of civilian property.
TIME AND LOCATION:
June 8, 1993, village of Susanj (west of Zenica).
SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: There were 101 Croatian family homes
in the village of Susanj. 16 people were killed and 27 others (older
women and children) were held prisoner in two houses in the village.
The rest of the residents escaped B-H Army aggression and sought
refuge in Nova Bila and Zenica. In the village, two Croatian houses
and barns were set on fire. Muslim families moved into 15 Croatian
houses (the Croatian families were forcibly displaced). The rest
of the houses and private property was looted, and livestock taken.
PERPETRATORS: Members of the B-H army.
SOURCE OF INFORMATION: The Zenica Commission official report completed
following the investigation in the village of Ovnak, July 18, 1993.
The report was published in the newspaper "Vjesnik", July
19, 1993, page 8, titled: "Seventy Lives - No Return".
Written Document currently kept in the archives of the Department.
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