Stanisic Visited Soldiers on Combat Lines, Witness Says

The former soldiers, Ostoja Stanisic and Marko Milosevic, are accused of participating in the mass killing of approximately 1000 civilians from Srebrenica on a dam near Petkovci in mid-July 1995. According to the indictment, the civilians were taken as captives to Petkovci before being taken the dam.

Milan Babic, a former member of the Sixth Battalion of the Zvornicka Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army testified at today’s hearing. He said he arrived at the Zvornicka Brigade, which was commanded by Stanisic, after his son began his military service on July 14 or 15, 1995. He said the residents of Srebrenica broke the lines on one of those days.

“The commander [Stanisic] was on the [combat] positions, he visited the lines,” Babic said. He said a forward command post of the Sixth Battalion was situated on one of those positions, and that he used to see Stanisic there as well.

Babic said soldiers who were stationed on his combat lines didn’t receive an order from Stanisic to send a group of soldiers to guard captives from Srebrenica.

“We heard they were held in the new school building,” Babic said.

In response to questions by prosecutor Predrag Tomic, Babic said he didn’t see Stanisic on his first day of combat. He said Marko Milosevic, who was Stanisic’s deputy, was wounded at that time.

Boro Radovic, the second defense witness, was also a member of the Sixth Battalion of the Zvornicka Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army. He said he was also stationed at military points in mid-July 1995.

“The readiness was raised to a hundred percent. All of us were present on the combat positions,” Radovic said. He said he stayed there for ten days.

Radovic said during that time, he had heard from other soldiers that captives had arrived in Petkovci with forces from the Bosnian Serb Army. Radovic said the Sixth Battalion had no tasks related to the captives from Srebrenica.

The trial will continue on April 15.