KAKANJ

According to the official results of the 1991 census, the Kakanj district had 55,857 residents:

16,625 Croats (29,8%)
30,445 Moslems (54,5%)
4,937 Serbs (8,8%)
3,850 others (6,9%)

The district area was spared from the direct Serbian aggression, however it served as a shelter for thousands of Moslem refugees from the occupied districts by the Drina River. In the beginning of 1993, Croat residents of the districts experienced the first insults, provocations and maltreatment by B-H Army soldiers, and in April 1993, one Croat civilian was killed while ten other civilians were arrested and imprisoned in the "Sretno" motel in Kakanj where they were brutally battered. In the period between 5th and 13th June, stronger B-H Army soldiers pushed back HVO soldiers from the district. Many civilian residents of Croat nationality (more than 5,000) were evicted to the neighbouring district of Vares. During the attack of the B-H Army soldiers, several hundreds of family houses were burnt down in the villages surrounding the town of Kakanj, the district centre, while the families of Moslem refugees from Podrinje districts moved into those Croat owned houses and residential buildings that were still intact. More than fifty civilians were killed in the B-H Army attacks on the Croat residents of the Kakanj district. The most atrocious crime that has been recorded up to date was carried out on June 13th 1993, in the hamlet of Drenovik (the village of Tesevo) during which time sixteen Croat civilians were killed in the most brutal manner.

001 B-H - KAKANJ - February 1993

DESCRIPTION OF REPORTED CRIME: Employment of measures of intimidation and terror.

TIME AND LOCATION: February - June 1993; Kakanj.

SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: "... "Caritas" did what they could, and the aid in food supplies and clothes was distributed to all residents of Kakanj regardless their nationality and religious persuasion. The humanitarian organization "Merhamet" distributed aid only to Muslim civilians. This is how Croats and Muslims in Kakanj got divided. (...) Since February 1993, I have been persecuted, maltreated and insulted by the Muslims. They led a psychological war against the Croat residents. Croat residents in Kakanj have been imprisoned, and the fate of the majority of them is yet unknown. Among the missing is Franci Zupancic, a journalist who is still imprisoned in a Zenica camp. For months, members of the Muslim Armed Forces (the so-called MOS) have been coming to my apartment and threatening me to leave. Muslims intercepted me in the public places, forced me out of the public buildings, cursed me. We, Croat residents in Kakanj, became subordinate citizens.

PERPETRATORS: B-H Army soldiers (the so-called MOS - the Muslim Armed Forces)

EVIDENCE: A witness' written statement currently kept in the archives of the Centre.

004 B-H - KAKANJ - June 9, 1993

DESCRIPTION OF REPORTED CRIME: Attack on civilians and civilian properties; forcible displacement.

TIME AND LOCATION: June 9, 1993; 10:00 a.m.; Kakanj district.

SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: In his account, the witness reports that the general alert was sounded on June 9, 1993, at 10:00 a.m., during which time the B-H Army members (Muslim Army) launched an organized attack on all Croat-populated villages in the Kakanj district (Tesevo, Seoce, Veliki Trnovci, Dujmovici, Bjelavici, Gora, Crnac, Slapnica, Lipnica, Kraljeva Sutjeska, and Nazbilj. The town of Kakanj was also attacked. Some 15,000 Croat civilians were evicted from the Kakanj district. The evicted Croat civilians' entire property was looted, and some 80 per cent of the residential and farm buildings (previously owned by the evicted Croats) were set on fire.

PERPETRATORS: B-H Army members (the so-called MOS - Muslim Armed Forces).

EVIDENCE: A witness' written statement currently kept in the archives of the Centre.

003 B-H - KAKANJ - June 13, 1993

DESCRIPTION OF REPORTED CRIME: Infliction of severe bodily harm; mass killing.

TIME AND LOCATION: June 13, 1993; 10:30 a.m.; village of Drenovik (east of Kakanj).

SUMMARY OF REPORTED CRIME: After the attack on the villages of Kovaci and Brdarici (Kakanj district) by armed members of MOS(Muslim Armed Forces, part of the B-H Army), a group of 16 Croat villagers escaped in the direction of the village of Tesevo.

Around 10:30 a.m. they arrived in Drenovik. They were met halfway by a white UN armoured transporter which came from the direction of the Muslim populated village of Ricica. Ten soldiers wearing MOS insignia came out of the transporter. Their faces were painted. Two of them wore green berets on their heads, and one had dark glasses. According to the witness, they spoke in Zenica dialect, while one of them spoke a foreign language. The Croat villagers hid in a garage (the garage owner is Jozo Andric from Drvenik, Croat by nationality). Members of MOS fired on the garage, and on this occasion six villagers were wounded: Anica Juric (born 1947), Zeljka Juric (born 1980), Sladjana Franjic (born 1979), Branko Franjic (born 1981), Jure Juric (born 1941), Mirjana Franjic (born 1964). Afterwards, members of MOS ordered the civilians to get out of the garage and lie on the ground. As soon as the civilians lied on the ground in front of the garage, the soldiers fired on them. On that occasion, four villagers were killed and another seven wounded. The following civilians were killed: Jagoda Juric (born 1952), Juro Juric (born 1941), Ljubomir Juric (born 1972), and Ivo Markanovic (born 1952, shot in the head at point blank range). The following civilians were wounded: Antonija Juric (born 1969), Stjepan Juric (born 1968), Marinko Juric (born 1974), Dragan Juric (born 1975), Delfa Juric (born 1951), Blasko Franjic (born 1953), and Zeljka Juric (born 1980) was wounded once again. Members of MOS separated the women and closed them in a house (the owner of the house was Ivo Dogeljic from Drenovik). They did not allow any medical aid to the wounded civilians. Seven of the women that were confined in the house were wounded. Members of MOS killed all of the wounded men in front of the garage. The following persons were killed: Stjepan Juric (born 1968), Marinko Juric (born 1974), Dragan Juric (born 1975), Blasko Franjic (born 1953). When members of MOS left the village, after the crime had already been committed, the women left the house and went in the direction of the village of Tesevo. On their way they found the bodies of four Croat villagers from Brdarici. The bodies were strafed with bullets. The women recognized the killed persons as Janja Brdaric, Andja Brdaric, Robert Brdaric (17 years old), and Marko Brdaric (50 years old). According to the witness, on the same day, and approximately at the same time, this MOS group killed another four Croatian villagers from Brdaric: Mato Brdaric (18 years old), Ivan Brdaric (born 1946), Stjepan Brdaric (born 1946), and Franjo Brdaric (born 1947). In Drenovik, the 16 Croat villagers of Kovaci and Brdarici were killed (seven of them were first wounded), and seven others from the same villages were wounded (two of them seriously).

PERPETRATORS: Armed members of MOS (Muslim Armed Forces, part of the B-H Army).

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Report no. 01-12/93 from September 17, 1993, issued by the Centre for Human Rights - Medjugorje, currently kept in the archives of the Centre.