Supplemental report on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, Nov 2, 1992

2 July:

An 82-year-old Bosnian Muslim refugee from the village of Prhovo, near Kljuc, described how the Serbian army came to his village, herded the people together in the center of the town, and called out names from a list. Three or four soldiers began to execute those whose names were called, murdering the women and children as well as the able-bodied men. There appeared to be no pattern to those selected for killing. The soldiers then set the village on fire.

June:

A 22-year-old man who had been interned in Keraterm camp in June told New York Newsday reporter Roy Gutman that during three days he and other prisoners buried about 300 men and women from seven Muslim villages south of Prijedor. One out of every 10 prisoners selected at random told the reporter that he had been beaten or tortured, or had witnessed killings.

June:

A 31-year-old Bosnian Muslim refugee from the village of Hambarez, near Prijedor, witnessed the execution of two Muslims in the village of Biscani. One was Emsoud Aliskovic, a cousin of the village chief of police. As she watched, one Serbian soldier took an ax to the prisoners' heads, then the flesh of their upper thighs. Next, the soldier dismembered the victims' arms and legs.

May-June:

Between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslim men, women, and children were murdered by Serb irregular forces near Brcko. Most of the killing reportedly occurred at a brick factory and a pig farm near Brcko, and was done by irregulars led by Selijko Raznjatovic ("Arcan"), and Vojislav Sesselj. Witnesses claimed to have seen the spontaneous murders of up to 50 prisoners at a time. (Department of State September 25 statement, The Washington Post; USA Today; The Washington Times)

May-June:

Alija Lujinovic, a 53-year-old Muslim traffic engineer from Brcko, on May 3 was captured by Serbian irregulars--two days after the Yugoslav army and irregular forces attacked Brcko. The following is part of his account:

3 May: The leader of the territorial defense force was killed by soldiers' jumping up and down on his torso.

5 May: About five soldiers killed about 20-25 people on the grass in front of the building in which they were detained by cutting their throats with knives.

7 May: He and up to 1,500 people were taken by bus to the port known as Luka, on the Sava River. During their 50 days at this facility, Lujinovic wit nessed the following:

Some people who had already been beaten to death were brought in the trunks of cars and dumped in the middle of the warehouse.

Lujinovic personally had to help carry out people who had been beaten in the night and died from the beatings; the bodies were thrown into the river. The guards were drinking heavily and taking green tablets. "Then they were really wild."

He once saw about 15 corpses of young men, 18-30 years old, completely naked, with their genitals torn out. A guard threatened to use a scissors-like instrument on him.

He saw at least 30 people taken to the sewage canals outside the ware house where their throats were cut.