Karadzic: Three Thousand Grenades A Day

Irish Lieutenant-Colonel John Hamill, who was a UN observer and liason between the UN and the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, SRC, of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, during the course of the war, said he was involved in an investigation into the shelling of the Markale open-air market in February 1994.

The witness said that the projectiles that hit the marketplace were fired from SRC positions, adding that more than three thousand projectiles were fired on Sarajevo daily from those positions.

Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander of its armed forces, is on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war.

The indictment alleges that from April 1992 to November 1995, Karadzic participated in a joint criminal enterprise with the aim of initiating and executing a sniping and shelling campaign targeted against the civilian population of Sarajevo with the primary goal of spreading terror.

The indictment charges him with 15 shelling incidents that took place in Sarajevo, including the shelling of the Markale market place on February 5, 1994, when 66 people were killed and more than 140 were wounded, and August 28, 1995, when 43 people were killed and 75 were wounded.

During the course of cross-examination witness Hamill said that UN members conducted the investigation into the Markale shelling incident, adding he did not know whether any other party conducted a parallel investigation into the incident.

“I know there was no joint investigation. I think that members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted an investigation as well, but I am not sure whether the Serbs did the same. I do not remember any such investigations,” Hamill said.

The examination of witness Ismet Svraka was also completed at this hearing. Svraka said that he was wounded on both his legs and stomach in the Markale shelling incident on August 28, 1995.

“The detonation made me hit the wall with my head and fall down. When I opened my eyes, I realised I could not see anything. I touched my face with my hands and I said to myself – ‘good, my head is in one piece’.

“The next thing I remember was waking up at the hospital,” Svraka said, adding that both of his legs were partially amputated, a shrapnel penetrated through his groin and stomach and he still has shrapnel in his head.

The court announced that Martin Bell, who was hit with a sniper bullet while reporting from the city, and Almir Begic, whose father Camil was killed in the first shelling incident at Markale in February 1994, would testify about the murder of civilians in Sarajevo.

Following the examination of these witnesses, the Hague Prosecution will complete the presentation of evidence about the artillery and sniper fire on Sarajevo and move on to the presentation of evidence about Karadzic’s alleged command responsibility for genocide committed in several Bosnian municipalities and taking international observers hostage.

The trial is due to continue on Tuesday, December 14.

D.E.