Witness Describes Killing of Bosniak Civilians in Jelovo Brdo

Miodrag Trifkovic, a former member of the Osmacki Battalion of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), has been charged with murders of the Bosniak population in the village of Jelovo Brdo.

Testifying before the cantonal court of Tuzla, Rasema Civic said her husband, Ahmet, was killed the day Jelovo Brdo was attacked. She said she found out later on that defendant Miodrag Trifkovic participated in his killing.

“The VRS surrounded the village again on June 26. They ordered everyone to gather in front of the mosque. I went from the field to our house and told my husband Ahmet, our children and some neighbours that we should flee. We fled towards a brook and hid in the grass,” Civic said.

Civic said she hid there with her daughter, Senada, while her husband proceeded alongside the brook, running away with other neighbours.

According to Civic, in the early evening they came across some Bosnian Serb Army soldiers, who then began shooting at the Bosniak civilians who were running away.

“I heard a burst of gunfire and saw boys Almir and Semir Civic fall into the brook. They were my brother-in-law’s children. I no longer saw my husband Ahmet, because we had separated earlier. My daughter Senada and I were captured in the evening. The VRS drove us to the mosque, where I saw the other residents of the village. Then they started beating us. After that we were transported to Osmaci by trucks,” Civic recalled.

Civic said they travelled from Osmaci to territory controlled by the Bosnian Army. She said she met her brother-in-law Aljo Civic there three months later.

“Aljo told me my husband Ahmet had been killed on that day. He said my husband Ahmet and his [brother-in-law’s] sons had been killed by Miodrag Trifkovic, Vlastimir Peric and Milisav Tripkovic,” Civic said.

The date of the next hearing will be set at a later stage.