Serb Army ‘Prohibited Prisoner Abuse’

A former Bosnian Serb Army unit commander, Ranko Kolar, testified at the Hague Tribunal on Wednesday that Mladic’s troops were told not to abuse prisoners during the 1992-95 conflict.

“In every commandment – attack or defensive – it was said that we must not harass captured civilians or prisoners of war, and that we must hand them over to the nearest body with intelligence and security authority,” Kolar said.

“Actions in populated areas were also very clear, we were allowed to open fire only at places showing resistance, with minimal destruction,” he added.

Kolar said that his units fought against “Muslim-Croatian formations” in the Sanski Most area in the summer of 1992 and that he participated in combat against Bosniak units led by Naser Oric on the road between Bratunac and Zvornik in early 1993.

“We started an intervention to stop the operations of Naser Oric’s units, whose job it was to cut the communication between Bratunac and Zvornik and then conquer both cities. The village of Kravica and 11 another Serb villages were burned down in those operations. We then started an intervention, stopped Oric and managed to save some of the civilians who were there,” the witness said.

Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic is on trial for genocide in Srebrenica and several other municipalities, the persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout the country, terrorising the population of Sarajevo and taking UN peacekeepers hostage.

During cross-examination, the Hague prosecutors asked Kolar whether he knew that Bosniaks were disarmed in Sanski Most and taken to the Betonirka facility or local sports hall, where they were abused.

“I heard that our unit participated in the disarmament of the formations which were not in the Bosnian Serb Army, but I’m not familiar with them being taken away. I’ve heard of that sports hall, but I never went there,” he replied.

Kolar also said that he didn’t hear about the murders of Bosniak civilians in the villages of Hrustovo and Krkojevci near Sanski Most during the war.

The trial continues on Thursday.