12 April 1993 Srebrenica shelling
12 April 1993 Srebrenica shelling | |
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Coordinates | 44°06′15″N 19°17′50″E / 44.10417°N 19.29722°E |
On 12 April 1993, the
Background
Srebrenica was a Bosnian Muslim (
At the beginning of April 1993, the Bosnian Serbs ordered through UNHCR the surrender of the Bosnian government within 48 hours.[3] They required that the UN forces assist the VRS (headed by Ratko Mladić) by evacuating and disarming over 60,000 people in the enclave.[3]
Shelling
On 12 April 1993 a VRS artillery attack of two short bombardments on Srebrenica left 56 dead, including children, and 73 seriously wounded.[5] Shells dropped on the densely packed streets of the town.[2] 14 bodies of children were found in a school playground (soccer field),[1][6] which had been hit by a shell at around 3 PM according to HRW.[7] There was a total of 15 civilian casualties at the playground according to the ICTY.[8]
The attack came after suspension of
Witness accounts
American journalist Chuck Sudetic interviewed Bosnian Army doctor Nedret Mujkanović who claimed 36 people dead on site and 102 seriously wounded at the playground, whom he treated. "People were sitting around in front of the school," he said. "The children were playing football and other games. In less than one minute, seven rockets from a multiple-rocket launcher fell in an area about half the size of a football field." He claimed that the VRS knew that there was a refugee camp at the school and that they directed their fire at that location.[10]
Aftermath and legacy
On 16 April, the UN declared Srebrenica a
A photograph of a blood-covered and blinded boy lying on a stretcher, Sead Bekrić, was widely broadcast and made the front cover of Newsweek.[11] The word "Bosnia" was printed across Sead's injured chest.[12] After seeing him on CNN, a wealthy Croatian-American couple paid for his location and evacuation.[13]
The incident is included in the 26th point ("Shelling of civilian gatherings") in the initial indictment issued by the ICTY on 24 July 1995 against Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić. 15 civilian casualties at the Srebrenica playground are listed.[8]
The incident is also mentioned in Emir Suljagić's personal account of the siege and fall of Srebrenica, Postcards from the Grave.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Seib 2002, p. 60.
- ^ a b c d e Burg & Shoup 2015, p. 140.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Greenberg, Barton & McGuinness 2000, p. 51.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Klip 2005, p. 602.
- ^ Honig & Both 1996, p. 94.
- ISBN 978-1-101-57509-3.
- ^ Helsinki Watch (Organization : U.S.) (1993). Abuses continue in the former Yugoslavia: Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Hercegovina. Helsinki Watch.
- ^ a b IT-95-5-I.
- ^ International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia - Trial of R. Krstić Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chuck Sudetic, "CONFLICT IN THE BALKANS; A View of the Bosnia War From the Srebrenica Hospital's O.R.", The New York Times, 24 April 1993
- ISBN 978-1-84150-610-4.
- ^ Mike Downey, "'94 WINTER OLYMPICS / Lillehammer: Few Know Troubles He's Seen", Los Angeles Times, 27 February 1994
- ^ Raymond Moley; Malcolm Muir; Joseph Becker Phillips; Rex Smith; Samuel Thurston Williamson (1993). Newsweek. Vol. 121. Newsweek. p. 158.
Sources
- Burg, Steven L.; Shoup, Paul S. (2015). Ethnic Conflict and International Intervention: Crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1990-93. Routledge. pp. 140–. ISBN 978-1-317-47102-8.
- Greenberg, Melanie C.; Barton, John H.; McGuinness, Margaret E. (2000). Words Over War: Mediation and Arbitration to Prevent Deadly Conflict. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 51–. ISBN 978-0-8476-9892-9.
- Honig, Jan Willem; Both, Norbert (1996). Srebrenica: record of a war crime. Penguin. p. 94. ISBN 9780140261653.
- Klip, André (2005). The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 2001. Intersentia nv. pp. 602–. ISBN 978-90-5095-375-7.
- Seib, Philip M. (2002). The Global Journalist: News and Conscience in a World of Conflict. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-0-7425-1102-6.
- "Case No. IT-95-5-I" (PDF). ICTY.