Muslim Paramilitary Forces Guilty of Conflicts in Sanski Most
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Testifying in defence of Karadzic, Davidovic said that armed Bosniaks in Sanski Most worked on achieving a plan for separation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia, adding that Serbs, supported by the Yugoslav National Army and, later on, VRS, objected to it.
According to Davidovics testimony, following the unsuccessful appeals to armed Bosniaks to surrender their weapons, the Sixth Krajina Brigade of VRS began an operation aimed at disarming those people in villages in Sanski Most municipality starting on May 25, 1992.
He mentioned Hrustovo village, where ten of his soldiers were killed, as an example. The witness said that this was a proof that Muslim forces of the size of a battalion, not armed civilians, were present in Hrustovo.
Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of its armed forces, is charged with genocide in Srebrenica, terror against civilians in Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
Sanski Most is one of the seven municipalities, where, according to the indictment, charging Karadzic with persecuting Bosniaks and Croats throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, the persecution reached the scale of genocide. According to the charges against Karadzic, Serb forces killed a certain number of civilians and destroyed two mosques in Hrustovo in May 1992.
Davidovic said that Betonjerka and Famos buildings, where, according to the charges against Karadzic, Serb forces detained, beat and tortured Bosniaks, were admission centres.
While being cross-examined by the Prosecutor, Davidovic said that he begged Bosniaks in Hrustovo, in a brotherly way, to surrender weapons, but they refused to do it.
The witness said that his Brigade did not harm unarmed civilians.
Contrary to that, the Prosecutor quoted a witness statement, in which he said that local residents of Hrustovo voluntarily surrendered weapons in late May 1992, but, despite that, the village was attacked a few days later.
The trial of Karadzic is due to continue on Monday, January 27, while the testimony of former VRS Commander Ratko Mladic is scheduled for Tuesday. However, it is still not certain whether Mladic will appear in the courtroom.
