Srebrenica Bosniaks ‘Executed from Morning to Evening’

Prosecution witness Milivoje Nikolic, the former commander of the Branjevo farm, which was run by the military, told the Sarajevo court on Tuesday that one morning in July 1995, he was on duty in the stables when a van carrying a few soldiers arrived at around 9am.

“Some were armed, they had automatic rifles. One of them entered the stable to keep an eye on me or something,” said the witness, adding that he talked with the soldier about the pigs.

The witness said that a few minutes later, buses full of people started to arrive.

“No one told me not to go out of the stable, but I did not, I was scared… I heard shooting, rifles. I knew… It was clear to me what was going on,” said Nikolic.

He said that the shooting lasted until the evening.

Cvetkovic, a former member of the Bosnian Serb Army’s 10th Sabotage Squad, is on trial for his alleged involvement in the killings of at least 900 Bosniaks from Srebrenica at the Branjevo farm on July 16, 1995.

Prosecutor Dubravko Campara asked the witness if Cvetkovic’s mother had come to him three years ago, showed him some photos and asked him if the soldier who was with him in the stable the whole time was her son.

“Yes, she said he was in Israel. I did not recognise him in the photo,” said the witness. Cvetkovic was extradited from Israel to stand charges last year.

The witness was asked to approach Cvetkovic in the courtroom, but did not recognise his face or voice.

The trial will resume on February 24.