Monday, 6 october 2025.

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Prosecutor’s Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: BIRN

SIPA arrested two suspects on Thursday as yet unnamed suspected of committing war crimes in the Ilijas area near Sarajevo.

According to the state prosecution, the suspects were direct perpetrators who personally participated in taking away and killing victims from the area of Ljesevo, near Ilijas, in June 1992.

“The investigation refers to the taking away and killing of 22 Bosniak civilians from Ljesevo, including women and the elderly. The civilians who were shot and killed included several members of the Avdukic, Fazlic and Masnopita families,” the prosecution announced.

After examining the suspects, the prosecutor in charge will decide on further steps.

A database compiled by BIRN BiH indicates that the Bosnian Serb army and police attacked the villages of Ljesevo, Kadarici and Luka, as well as the Ilijas central area in June 1992, shooting dead 22 locals from Ljesevo.

According to local residents, the soldiers, mostly neighbours, buried the victims in a mass grave at a local cemetery several days after the shooting.

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