Army in Civilian Buildings in Sarajevo

Milorad Bukva, former Intelligence Officer with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, says, testifying at Ratko Mladic’s trial, that, during the war the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH, misused civilian buildings in Sarajevo by placing its commands, units and factories in them.

During the course of his testimony Bukva marked the military targets on a map of Sarajevo, which Mladic’s Defence included as evidence. He specified that the Command of the First Corps of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ABiH, was situated in a basement of a residential building in the Sarajevo downtown area, across the road from the Presidency of BiH.
 
“The other parts of that building were inhabited by civilians,” the witness said, adding that this was “the rule” and that only “two or three” of the Muslim commands and units were situated “in military barracks”.
 
Also, Bukva said that headquarters and ammunition factories of the Army of BiH were situated in schools and kindergartens and that Muslim forces opened fire on Serb positions from positions within hospital complexes.
 
According to his testimony, the First Corps of the Army of BiH in Sarajevo consisted of “between 35,000 and 38,000 soldiers”.
 
“Serbs in Sarajevo were used as human shields and they were not allowed to leave the city,” the witness said.
 
When asked whether Muslims could leave Sarajevo, he said that “no convoys were organised”, but “the airport was misused” for evacuating people from the city.
 
“I do not even know why they left the city,” Bukva said.
 
Former Commander of the VRS Main Headquarters Ratko Mladic is on trial for having terrorised citizens in Sarajevo by conducting a sniper and artillery campaign.
 
Mladic is also charged with genocide in Srebrenica and seven other Bosnian municipalities, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats, as well as taking UNPROFOR members hostage.
 
The trial of Mladic is due to continue on Tuesday, September 2.