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“When we were able to determine the location from which fire came, we would send letters of protest to that party. But it was difficult to determine the locations… It seems to me that we sent more letters of protest to the Bosnian Serbs than to the others,” said the witness, who was a member of the UNPROFOR forces in Sarajevo from October 1993 to September 1994.
Karadzic presented the witness with several documents, including reports about the attack conducted by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 18, 1994.
“It is true that Bosnian Muslims initiated the attack on that day and they did it from an inhabited area. This represented a violation of the cease fire agreement. Serbs reacted because they forcibly took arms from a collection point in Poljine. NATO did not undertake an operation for these reasons,” the witness said.
Karadzic, the former President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of its armed forces, is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995.
The indictment charges him with a sniping and shelling campaign conducted in Sarajevo with the aim of spreading fear among civilians. Thousands of civilians were killed or wounded in the campaign.
Karadzic insisted several times that the witness show him evidence that Serbs were the first to open fire, arguing that, according to data available to the UN, “out of 13 major violations, the Muslim Army was responsible for 12”.
The witness said that he was not just talking about offensives, but there were some operations targeting civilians for which Serbs were responsible.
Karadzic said that the ABiH was responsible for all major incidents, asking the witness if he had evidence that Serbs intentionally shot civilians.
“Snipers did not hesitate to target civilians or UNPROFOR members. I have got evidence showing that civilians were regularly endangered and the fire came from sectors controlled by Serbs. Serbs never admitted to having done this and the Muslims never admitted it either,” KDZ-450 said.
KDZ-450’s testimony was closed to the public on several occasions, including the moment when he responded to Karadzic’s question about why Serbs thought of him as anti-Serb and biased.
The trial is due to continue on Tuesday, January 25. The Prosecution announced that Zaim Kosaric would be its next witness.
M.T.
