Unknown Bosnian Soldiers Killed Croats in Trusina
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Defendant Dzevad Salcin, who is on trial alongside four other ex-soldiers for the murders of 22 Bosnian Croat civilians and military prisoners, said that he was member of the Bosnian Armys Zulfikar unit.
Salcin said that the unit began a military operation on April 16, 1993, commanded by Samir Semsovic, known as Samko.
He said they reached some village and then saw a number of unknown soldiers starting to attack.
Because my leg was injured, I trotted along behind them. I was the last one to arrive in the village, Salcin said.
He said that when he arrived in the village, he saw Semsovic and another soldier standing next to about ten civilians.
A little girl was crying. I approached her and asked her why she was crying. She said: They will kill my brother. I told her that they would not do it. Samko then told me to stay with the civilians, while the others left. It started raining, so we went into a house. I behaved in a completely normal manner, Salcin said.
He said that some time later he heard an unknown man saying that Samko was injured and that the civilians should be taken out of the house.
When I came out, I saw another group of women. An unknown voice said that all the men should stand on one side, while the women should be taken away. I thought that they would take the men for an exchange. A 15-year old boy was about to join them. I did not want to separate him from his sister, so I told him not to go and join the men, he said
I then heard the same voice saying: Firing squad! Get ready! I was surprised to hear that, because we did not have a firing squad. I told the women to hide the boy. We then heard several rounds of bullets being fired, Salcin said, adding that he then left the village.
Salcin told the court that during the course of the attack he did not see Zulfikar unit members Zulfikar Alispago, Mensur Memic, Nedzad Hodzic and Nihad Bojadzic.
Salcin is charged, along with Memic, Hodzic, Bojadzic and Alispago, as well as Senad Hakalovic, with having participated in the attack on Trusina village on April 16, 1993 and the murder of 22 civilians and prisoners of war.
The trial is due to continue on April 22.
