Prijedor ethnic cleansing

During the

Following Slovenia's and Croatia's declarations of independence in June 1991, the situation in the Prijedor municipality rapidly deteriorated. During the war in Croatia, the tension increased between the Serbs and the communities of Bosniaks and Croats.

Bosniaks and Croats began to leave the municipality because of a growing sense of insecurity and fear caused by intensifying

A declaration on the takeover prepared by the Serb politicians from the Serbian Democratic Party was read out on Radio Prijedor the day after the takeover and was repeated throughout the day. When planning the anticipated takeover, it was decided that the 400 Serb policemen who would be involved in the takeover would be sufficient for the task. The objective of the takeover was to take over the functions of the president of the municipality, the vice-president of the municipality, the director of the post office, the chief of the police etc.

During the night of 29/30 April 1992, the takeover of power took place. Employees of the public security station and reserve police gathered in Čirkin Polje, part of the town of Prijedor. Only Serbs were present and some of them were wearing military uniforms. The people there were given the task of taking over power in the municipality and were broadly divided into five groups. Each group of about twenty had a leader and each was ordered to gain control of certain buildings. One group was responsible for the Assembly building, one for the main police building, one for the courts, one for the bank and the last for the post-office.^[10]

The

Major Radmilo Željaja issued an ultimatum calling for all Bosniak citizens to hand over their weapons to the Serbian Army and to declare their loyalty to the Serbian Republic and to respond to the mobilisation call-ups. The ultimatum issued also contained a threat that any resistance would be punished. For the most part, the civilian population complied with these requests turning in their hunting rifles and pistols as well as their permits and in the belief that if they handed in their weapons they would be safe. House searches performed by soldiers of the homes of the non-Serb population were common and any weapons found were confiscated.[10]

Many non-Serbs were dismissed from their jobs in the period after the takeover. The general tendency is reflected in a decision of the Serb regional authorities i.e. Crisis Staff of the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK) dated 22 June 1992, which provides that all socially-owned enterprises, joint-stock companies, state institutions, public utilities, Ministries of the Interior, and the Army of the Serbian Republic may only be held by personnel of Serbian nationality.^[10]

The announcements broadcast on the radio, from 31 May 1992 onward, also obliged non-Serbs to hang white bed sheets outside their homes and wear white armbands,^[14] as a demonstration of their loyalty to the Serbian authorities. Charles McLeod, who was with the ECMM and visited Prijedor municipality in the last days of August 1992, testified that while visiting a mixed Serb/Bosnian Muslim village he saw that the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) houses were identified by a white flag on the roof. This is corroborated by the testimony of Barnabas Mayhew (ECMM), who testified that the Bosnian Muslim houses were marked with white flags to distinguish them from the Serb houses.^[10]

Hambarine was predominantly Bosniak village in Prijedor municipality. On 22 May 1992, Serb controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) issued an ultimatum to the residents of Hambarine. The residents were to surrender several individuals alleged involved in attack on JNA. The ultimatum was not complied with and around noon the next day the shelling of Hambarine began. The shelling came from three directions from the north-west in the Karane area, from the area of Urije and from the area of Topic Hill. There were two or three Serb tanks and approximately a thousand soldiers during the attack. The bombardment of Hambarine continued until about 15:00. The Bosniak residents tried to defend the village, but they were forced to flee to other villages or to the Kurevo woods to escape the shelling. There were approximately 400 refugees, mostly women, children and elderly people, who fled Hambarine as a result of the attack that saw the Serb soldiers kill, rape and torch houses. A military operation was consequently concentrated on the Kurevo forest.^[10]

The area of Kozarac, surrounding Kozarac town, comprises several villages, including Kamičani, Kozaruša, Sušići, Brđani, Babići.

After the Serb takeover of

No wounded had been allowed out of Kozarac. For example, according to Dr. Merdžanić's testimony before the ICTY he had not been given permission to arrange the evacuation of two injured children, one of whom had her legs completely shattered, and he had instead been told that all the "dirty Muslims" (in Serbian language: balija) should die there, as they would be killed in any event. In the attack at least 100 people were killed, and 1,500 deported to concentration camps. A report sent by colonel Dragan Marčetić to the Serb Army Main Staff dated 27 May 1992 states that the wider area of Kozarac village, i.e. the area of the village of Kozaruša, Trnopolje, Donji Jakupovići, Gornji Jakupovići, Benkovac, Rakovic has been entirely freed of Bosniaks (80–100 Bosniaks were killed, about 1,500 captured and around 100–200 persons were at large on Mt. Kozara).^[10]

The Report of the Commission of Experts in

During and after Kozarac, Hambarine and Briševo massacres, Serb authorities set up concentration camps and determined who should be responsible for the running of those camps.[10]

The Omarska mines complex was located about 20 km from the town of Prijedor. The first detainees were taken to the camp sometime in late May 1992 (between 26 and 30 May). The camp buildings were almost completely full and some of the detainees had to be held on the area between the two main buildings. That area was lit up by specially installed spot-lights after the detainees arrived. Female detainees were held separately in the administrative building. According to the Serb authorities documents from Prijedor, there were a total of 3,334 persons held in the camp from 27 May to 16 August 1992. 3,197 of them were Bosniaks (i.e. Bosnian Muslims), 125 were Croats.^[10]

With the arrival of the first detainees, permanent guard posts were established around the camp, and anti-personnel landmines were set up around the camp. The conditions in the camp were horrible. In the building known as the "White House", the rooms were crowded with 45 people in a room no larger than 20 square meters. The faces of the detainees were distorted and bloodstained and the walls were covered with blood. From the beginning, the detainees were beaten, with fists, rifle butts and wooden and metal sticks. The guards mostly hit the heart and kidneys, when they had decided to beat someone to death. In the "garage", between 150 and 160 people were "packed like sardines" and the heat was unbearable. For the first few days, the detainees were not allowed out and were given only a jerry can of water and some bread. Men would suffocate during the night and their bodies would be taken out the following morning. The room behind the restaurant was known as "Mujo's Room". The dimensions of this room were about 12 by 15 metres and the average number of people detained there was 500, most of whom were Bosniaks. The women in the camp slept in the interrogations rooms, which they would have to clean each day as the rooms were covered in blood and pieces of skin and hair. In the camp one could hear the moaning and wailing of people who were being beaten up.^[10]

The detainees at Omarska had one meal a day. The food was usually spoiled and the process of getting the food, eating and returning the plate usually lasted around three minutes. Meals were often accompanied by beatings. The toilets were blocked and there was human waste everywhere. Ed Vulliamy, a British journalist, testified that when he visited the camp, the detainees were in a very poor physical condition. He witnessed them eating a bowl of soup and some bread and said that he had the impression they had not eaten in a long time. They appeared to be terrified. The detainees drank water from a river that was polluted with industrial waste and many suffered from constipation or dysentery. No criminal report was ever filed against persons detained in the Omarska camp, nor were the detainees apprised of any concrete charges against them. Apparently, there was no objective reason justifying these people's detention.^[10] The Omarska camp was closed immediately after a visit by foreign journalists in early August. On 6 or 7 August 1992, the detainees at Omarska were divided into groups and transported in buses to different destinations. About 1,500 people were transported on 20 buses.^[10]

The Trnoplje camp was set up in the village of Trnoplje on 24 May 1992. The camp was guarded on all sides by the Serb army. There were machine-gun nests and well-armed posts pointing their guns towards the camp. There were several thousand people detained in the camp, the vast majority of whom were Bosnian Muslim and some of them were Croats. According to approximation, on 7 August 1992 there were around 5,000 people detained there. Women and children were detained at the camp as well as men of military age. The camp population had a high turnover with many people staying for less than a week in the camp before joining one of the many convoys to another destination or concentration camps. The quantity of food available was insufficient and people often went hungry. Moreover, the water supply was insufficient and the toilet facilities inadequate. The majority of the detainees slept in the open air. The Serb soldiers used baseball bats, iron bars, rifle butts and their hands and feet or whatever they had at their disposal to beat the detainees. Individuals were who taken out for questioning would often return bruised or injured. Many women who were detained at the Trnopolje camp were taken out of the camp at night by Serb soldiers and raped or sexually assaulted.^[10]

Slobodan Kuruzović, the commander of the Trnopolje camp, estimated that between 6,000 and 7,000 people passed through the camp in 1992. Those who passed through the camp were not guilty of any crime. The

There were also other facilities in Prijedor which were used to detain Bosniak and other non-Serb people. Such detention facilities included Yugoslav People's Army barracks, Miška Glava Community Centre and a police building in Prijedor known as the SUP building.^[19]

The JNA barracks in Prijedor were known as the Žarko Zgonjanin barracks. They were used as a transition detention center. Some people who were fleeing the cleansing of Bišćani were trapped by Serb soldiers and taken to a command post at Miška Glava. The next morning they were called out, interrogated and beaten. This pattern continued for four or five days. Several men from the village of Rizvanovići were taken out by soldiers and have not been seen since. Around 100 men were arrested in the woods near Kalajevo by JNA soldiers and reserve police and taken to the Miška Glava cultural club. The detention cells were located behind the main SUP building (police building). There was also a courtyard where people were called out at night and beaten up. Prisoners detained in this building were also regularly threatened and insulted. Guards would curse them by calling them "balija", a derogative term for Muslim peasants of low origin.^[10]

Numerous killings, both inside and outside the camps were committed during the Prijedor ethnic cleansing.

On the basis of the evidence presented at the Stakić trial, the Trial Chamber finds that over a hundred people were killed in late July 1992 in the Omarska camp. Around 200 people from Hambarine arrived in the Omarska camp sometime in July 1992. They were initially accommodated in the structure known as the White House. Early in the morning, around 01:00 or 02:00 on 17 July 1992, gunshots were heard that continued until dawn. Dead bodies were seen in front of the White House. The camp guards, one of whom was recognised as Živko Marmat, were shooting rounds into the bodies. Everyone was given an extra bullet that was shot in their heads. The bodies were then loaded onto a truck and taken away. There were about 180 bodies in total.^[10]

On 24 July 1992, the massacre at the Keraterm camp, known as the Room 3 massacre was committed as one of the first larger massacres committed inside the camp. New Bosniak detainees from the earlier-cleansed Brdo area were incarcerated in Room 3. For the first few days, the detainees were denied food as well as being subjected to beatings and other physical abuse. On the day of the massacre, a large number of Serb soldiers arrived in the camp, wearing military uniforms and red berets. A machine-gun was placed in front of Room 3. That night, bursts of shooting and moans could be heard coming from Room 3. A machine gun started firing. The next morning there was blood on the walls in Room 3. There were piles of bodies and wounded people. The guards opened the door and said: "Look at these foolish dirty Muslims – they have killed each other". The area outside Room 3 was covered with blood. A truck arrived and one man from Room 1 volunteered to assist with loading the bodies onto the truck. Soon after, the truck with all the bodies left the compound. The volunteer from Room 1 reported that there were 128 dead bodies on the truck. As the truck left, blood could be seen dripping from it. Later that day, a fire engine arrived to clean Room 3 and the surrounding area.^[10]

Several people were convicted by the ICTY for crimes in Prijedor, including Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the UN established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars, and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was an ad hoc court located in

Other important convictions included Milomir Stakić, the ex-President of the Prijedor Municipal Assembly, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison,^[22] Bosnian Serb politician Momčilo Krajišnik, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison,^[23] and Radoslav Brđanin, ex-President of the Autonomous Region of Krajina Crisis Staff, who was handed over a 30 years' jail term.^[24] Stojan Župljanin, an ex-police commander who had operational control over the police forces responsible for the detention camps, and Mićo Stanišić, the ex-Minister of the Interior of Republika Srpska, both received 22 years in prison each.^[25] Bosnian Serb politician Biljana Plavšić pleaded guilty and admit guilt. She was sentenced to 11 years' in prison for persecution of non-Serbs.^[26]

Ex-guards of the Keraterm camp were also convicted: Duško Sikirica was sentenced to 15 years, Damir Došen to 5 years and Dragan Kolundžija to 3 years for beatings,^[27] whereas the guards of the Omarska camp were also convicted: Zoran Žigić was sentenced to 25 years, Mlađo Radić to 20 years, Miroslav Kvočka to 7 years imprisonment, Milojica Kos to 6 years and Dragoljub Prcać sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.^[28] Predrag Banović, who pleaded guilty to 25 charges, was sentenced to 8 years in prison.^[29] Duško Tadić was sentenced to 20 years in jail.^[30] Darko Mrđa, an ex-special Bosnian Serb police unit member who was involved in the Korićani Cliffs massacre case, pleaded guilty and was handed over a 17-year jail term.^[31]

In 2010, a memorial was opened in Kozarac in remembrance of the Bosniak civilian victims who died in the concentration camps run by Serbian authorities during the war.^[32]

On the occasion of the commemoration in 2015, a group of activists put a white armband on the monument of Partisan hero Mladen Stojanović in Prijedor and also shared this photo on social media. Stojanović was a local partisan leader in the Prijedor area who led important operations between July 1941 and March 1942, including at the

In 2000, a 7-metre-high cross with the title “Za krst časni/For the Holy Cross” was erected in a central location. According to the inscription referring to it, it is dedicated to the “fallen soldiers” who gave their lives for their people and the “Republika Srpska/Republic of Bosnian Serbs”. Around this memorial, Serbian nationalist commemorative activities take place under various names. These emphasize one of the narratives that the Serbian side defended the city against Croatian fascists and Muslim extremists. In 2024, a “Dan odbrane grada”/“Day of the Defense of the City” was celebrated on 30 May, the day before the commemoration of the ethnic cleansing. On this occasion, a religious service is held, organized by the Serbian Orthodox Church, wreaths are laid, candles are lit and songs are sung, such as “Veseli se srpski rode”/“Rejoice, Serbian people”, a song referring to Kosovo and “Marš na Drinu”/“March on the Drina”. The celebrations are followed by a parade in the streets of Prijedor, with speeches and a musical program. This event is primarily a reference to the above-mentioned armed attack on 30 May 1992. The organizers of the “Dan odbrane grada” are municipal authorities and veterans' associations.[34]^[35]

In 2024, a mixed group of non-Prijedor-based veterans of the war between 1992 and 1995 took part in the commemoration on the 31st of May. They fought in various Bosnian Serb, Croatian and Bosnian armed formations.^[36] Their participation was intended to demonstrate their solidarity with all victims of the war and of ethnic cleansing, which is also reflected in their participation in numerous other memorial ceremonies in Bosnia-Herzegovina at which the victims of ethnic groups other than Prijedor are commemorated. A representative of the veterans' group delivered a speech in Prijedor in which he pointed to the supranational and supra-religious character of the event, and also that “no passionate, political speeches are made and that in this way the conditions for dialogue, condemnation of war crimes and solidarity with all victims are created”. The war veterans are supported by the Centar za nenasilnu akciju (Centre for Nonviolent Action). This is a long-standing project since 2008, in which more than 1,000 veterans have taken part in numerous memorial ceremonies in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, but above all in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in order to document their sympathy for the fate of “the other side”.^{[37][failed verification]}

• List of massacres in the Bosnian War