Witnesses Describe Attack of Serb Civilians on Mount Treskavica
This post is also available in: Bosnian
Bunoza, Godinjak and Saric have been charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at killing and detaining Serb civilians in the Trnovo area. The indictment alleges that Bunoza was the commander of Croatian Defense Forces units in the area, Godinjak was the chief of police in Trnovo and Saric was the commander of the Territorial Defense in Trnovo.
A protected state prosecution witness known as Z said he spoke with Mehemed Kadic about the Mount Treskavica killings. He said Kadic didn’t tell him who participated in the killings, but said he and others had killed between 17 to 19 Serbs.
“He said that they wouldn’t have killed them if his cousin hadn’t been wounded,” Z said. Kadic told him one of the women in the group of Serb civilians they detained shot his cousin in the stomach.
Z said that they were Serbs from the village of Ledici, near Trnovo, who fled over the Treskavica Mountain. Z said Kadic told him one child survived.
A protected state prosecution witness known as B also testified at today’s hearing. He said Kadic also described the Mount Treskavica killings to him. B said Kadic told him that one of the women who was with the group of Serb civilians they detained on Mount Treskavica threw a bomb in the direction of his cousin, Hamed.
B said Kadic told him that his cousin Hamed killed one of the members of the group. When asked who else was involved in the murders, B said “He [Kadic] said his brother Hasib was with him, Velic and Kemo Kremo.”
According to B, members of the Tesanovic, Vasic and Kenjic families were killed.
“There were elderly people, women and children,” he said.
State prosecution witness Milan Vasic also testified at today’s hearing. He said he was part of the group of civilians from Ledic which travelled towards Kalinovik through Mount Treskavica.
“Women came from the direction of Dejcici saying, ‘You must run away from here!’ Then the panic started and we had to retreat,” Vasic said.
Vasic said they came upon four men who he managed to bypass in Treskavica. He said he returned to Ledic.
Vasic said his mother managed to get to Kalinovik, while his two sisters and a cousin were killed.
The trial will continue on October 20.
