Genocide against Bosniaks in Visegrad 1941-1945

Image:Yugoslav Royalist Forces commonly known as Chetniks, slaughtering a civilian in this undated picture.

Bosnian Muslim villages in Visegrad destroyed and  cleansed 1941-45: Part I

Gornje and Donje Štitarevo: Around 283 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by local Serbs, members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. The following families were completely cleansed from the village: Arnauti, Pite, Ferhatovići, Musić,Gaka etc. For crimes committed in this village,thanks to a survivor Nurko Cocalić, three local Serbs were  prosecuted by a Court in Sarajevo: Dušan Vasiljević, Milomir Gogić and  Zdravko Popović.

Rujište: Local Serbs massacred around 65 Bosnian Muslim neighbours including 22 women and children. The main perpetrators were Petar and Milorad Lukić. Entire Muslim families were cleansed from Rujište: Čavkušić, Liske and  Smajlović.

Menzilovići: Local Serbs massacred around 21 Bosnian Muslim neighbours in March 1942. Several Muslim women were raped including a pregnant women Hata Menzilović. The main perpetrators were: Milan Glišić, Rade and Milan Lindo, Blagoje Sapoljnić, Đoko and Ilija Marković, Miroslav Kargan and Zorka Papić.

Stari Brod: Local Serbs and members of Milan Nedić’s Army at the beggining of 1943, gathered surviving Bosnian Muslims civilians, most of whom were women and children, from surrounding villages: Gornje Štitarevo,Vlahovići,Pozderčići, Kapetanovići, Sendići, Prelovo, Omeragići, Presjek, Gostilja etc. These civilians were brought to Stari Brod village where they were barricaded in a house and two stables and burnt alive. A Bosnian Serb Jovan Gogić from the village Blace, admitted that he witnessed this crime.

Omeragići: Around 42 Bosnian Muslims were massacered by their Serb negibours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. One group of Bosnian Muslim men were excecuted in a forest called ”Duboko” and ”Hrtar”. Another group was excecuted in Zvekara cave. Some women and children were burnt alive in live pyres in Stari Brod.

Image: Ćamka Murtić(village Gostilja) and Safa Halilović(village Sase), raped and slaugthered by Bosnian Serbs from Visegrad, 1941. Picture taken by Sejdo Grabovic.

Kurtalići: Around 21 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two.The main perpetrator of his crime was Đoko Marković. Both witnesses of this masscare, Nurif and Mehmed kurtalić, were murdered in Kurtalići in 1992 by Bosnian Serbs.

Mušići: Around 60 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two.The perpetrators of this crime included: Lazar Đurić, Stjepan Dikić, Ilija Marković, Luka Đurić and a women Zorka Papić. Ćamila Bosno, a Bosnian Muslim, witnessed when Zorka Papić beat to death her Muslim neigbhour Halima, who is Ćamila’s aunt.

Pozderčići: Around 39 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. Their property was looted by neigbouring Serbs. The main perpetrator of this crime was Ratko Mitrašinović who led a group of Chetniks from neighbouring Serb villahe Kragujevac. The remaining Bosnian Muslim civilians – women and children, sho survived this crime were later taken to Stari Brod where all were burnt alive in  live pyres.

Kupusovići: Around 61  Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. The main perpetraors were : the Mitrašinović brothers and Miloš Miličević. Aleksa Vojinović from Serb village Blace, kidnapped Hasna Kupus whom he raped and then murdered. The mosque in Kupusovići was completely destroyed and its stone was used in the construction of a church in Blace.

Koritnik: Around 47 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two.  Yugosla historian Vladimir Dedijer in his book ”Crimes against Muslims 1941-1945”, documented the testimony of one survivor Mehmed Kurspahic who witness the horrific torture of Mehmed Spahic.

Image: The Mehmed-pasa Sokolovic Bridge, blown up by German Nazi troops.

Žlijeb: Around 109 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. During the first attack in November 1941, most of the village’s populaion fled to Višegrad, but later returned due to garantees from Serbs and most importantly from the Italian Fascist army command in Višegrad. Almost all men who returned to Žlijeb were massacred. The village was left wih 33 widows,100 orphans and almost 15 families were left without a single member. The perpetrators of this crimes were: the Mitranović brothers from Kragujevac village, Ilija Mitrašinović, Miloš Miličević, Petronije Knežević, Sredoje Knežević-Ivankić, the Radovanović brothers from Odžak village,Radoje Novaković from Odžak village etc.

Klasnik: Around 171 Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. During the first attack in November 1941, around 26 men were massacred,  most of the village’s populaion fled to Višegrad, but later returned due to garantees from Serbs and most importantly from the Italian Fascist army command in Višegrad. Bosnian Muslims were called to the Chetnik HQ to report and receive a security not for safe passage through their controlled area. Around 29 men went to report and never returned. Since most of the families were left without their menfolk, there was no one to protect them. The Chetniks used this situation for a raping spree. Dozens of  Muslim women in Žlijeb village were raped.

Kapetanovići: Around 55  Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. In March 1942, Rade, Sredoje Novaković and Vitomir Krstić from Pozderčići and Milija Radovanović from Odžak gathered around 18 Bosnian Muslim men to take them to the Chetnik command in Odžak to receive a security not for safe passage through their controlled area. After a failed escape attempt, the remaining men were taken to Mount Rogopek and excecuted. Thanks to Nusret Kapetanović, a orphan from Kapetanovići, Rade and Sredoje Novaković and Vitomir Krstić were arrested and sentenced to 20 years prison.

Resnik: Around 102  Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. According to witness accounts, several Muslim girls and women were raped.

Kamenica: Around 112  Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. The main perpetrators of this crime were : the Gudović brothers, the Vujkić brothers and Lazo Stjepanović from Paočića village. In a live pyre in the house of Bećo Bosno, around 26 women and children were burnt alive. Two Bosnian Serb neighbours Petar Lukić and Božo Ivanović raped Muslim women Šehrija Pjevo and Šefku Dudević. Several Serbs were reported to Police authorities after the war but no action against them was taken.

Mala Gostilja:  Around 43  Bosnian Muslims were massacred by Serb neighbours and members of Yugoslav Royalist Forces(Chetniks) in World War Two. It should be noted that a Serb women Radina Andrić, wife of Ratko Andrć warned Muslims from this village that the Serbs were planning to massacre Muslim men and thus saved a large number of men.

Image: Brigadier Charles Armstrong with Yugoslav Royalist Army General Draze Mihailovic, responsible for genocide against Bosnian Muslims in Eastern Bosnia, near Visegrad 1943 . Mihailovic overlooked the attack on Visegrad and the slaughter of around 3,000 Bosnian Muslims in and around Visegrad. A number of British and American intelligence officers were present during the occupation of Visegrad and witnessed the massacre of Bosnian Muslim civilians.

Source: Krvava Ćuprija na Drini, Mustafa Sućeska, DES, 2001. Mr. Sućeska is a World War Two Visegrad Genocide survivor.

Destruction of Zlijeb Mosque

Žlijeb is a village in Visegrad Municipality. According to the 1991 census, it had a population of 179 out of which 142 were Bosnian Muslims. The entire Muslim population was either driven out, murdered or sent to concentration camps in the Visegrad Municipality. All Bosniak property was destroyed and the village  mosque was burnt down and the minaret dynamited. Until now only Boban Simsic has been on trial for crimes committed in this village.

Image: The interior of the Zlijeb mosque built in 1550.

Image: A tree has grown in the middle of the mosque. In the rear is the mihrab.

Image: The mosque burnt down and the minaret dynamited.

Image: The mosque burnt down and the minaret dynamited.

Image: The mosque burnt down and the minaret dynamited. Notice the top of the minaret stuck in the ground due to explosion.

Image: The top of the minaret stuck in the ground due to explosion when the minaret was dynamited.

Destruction of mosques in Visegrad Municipality

During the aggression on Republic of B&H, all the mosques in the Visegrad Municipality were systematically destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army(Vojska Republike Srpske).

1.Gazanfer-begova Dzamija (1590.)

Image: The Gazanfer-begova/Gazander Bey’s Mosque also known as  Atik dzamija/Old Mosque  before the war.

Image: The site where the  Gazanfer Bey’s mosque in the center of the town. Destroyed in 1992, today it is a park.

2.Careva/Bikavac Dzamija (1571)

Image: The Bikavac or Careva/Emperor’s mosque in Visegrad. Burn ablaze and bulldozed by Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.

Image: The Careva dzamija/Emperor’s Mosque also known as the Bikavac mosque, was originally built in the sixteenth century and was renovated in 1910 and 1947.

Image: The Emperor’s Mosque set ablaze by Bosnian Serb Army in Visegrad, June 1992.

Image: The site where the Emperor’s mosque stood. Picture taken a few years after the war’s end.

Image: The Careva mosque in the center of Visegrad. Destroyed in 1992 by the Bosnian Serb Army. Reconstructed by the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina with funding by Visegrad’s Bosniak diaspora.

3. Drinsko Dzamija (1895.)

Image: Mosque in Drinsko, Visegrad. Built in 1885, burnt down in 1941 by Yugoslav Serb Royalists popularly known as  “Chetniks” led by Draza Mihailovic. After 26 years the Communist regime finally gave permission to restore and reopen the mosque (1967). The mosque was destroyed by Bosnian Serb Army in 1992, rebuilt and reopened a few years ago.

Image: The Drinsko Mosque in 2002.

Image: Mosque in Drinsko. Destroyed in 1992 by Bosnian Serb Army.Reconstructed by the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina with funding by Visegrad’s Bosniak diaspora.

4. Barimo

Image: An Islamic school(mekteb) in Barimo. Destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.

5. Holijaci

Image: An Islamic school(mekteb) in Holijaci. Destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.

7. Orahovci (1566.)

Image: Mosque in Orahovci. Destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.

8. Žlijeb (1550.)

Image: A mosque in Zlijeb. Destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.See more on Žlijeb mosque here.

Image: An Imam‘s house in Zlijeb. Destroyed by the Bosnian Serb Army in 1992.

9.Dobrun (1445.)

Image: The Dobrun Mosque, totally destroyed in 1992 by the Bosnian Serb Army. Rebuilt and opened in 2006 by funds from Visegrad’s Bosniak diaspora.

All these buildings were destroyed in a systematic way, by Visegrad Serbs, most of whom were neighbors to their Bosniak victims. All of them, whether they were armed civilians,members of  “para-military” units, or members of the Visegrad Brigade, were members of the Republika Srpska Army or it’s Police force. This was organized and planned by the Visegrad Municipality, i.e. by the Serb Democratic Party Crisis Committee. No one has answered for the destruction of mosques in Visegrad.

Note: Pictures were taken from MIZ Visegrad.

Updated: 1.11.2009

BH Government Report on crimes committed in Visegrad

Image: Members of the Bosnian Serb Army, Special Unit “Avengers” in Visegrad 1992.

Report submitted by the BiH government to the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Document submitted in compliance with a special decision of the Committee* : Bosnia and Herzegovina. 27/04/93.

CCPR/C/89. (Additional Info from State Party)

Convention Abbreviation: CCPR
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Document submitted in compliance with a special decision
of the Committee*

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

[30 October 1992]

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32. The identical programme has been carried out in the Višegrad region. The camps there have been established in the Fire Station, the “Vilina Vlas” Hotel, the High School Centre, the Primary School “Hasan Deretovac”, the former JNA garrison at Vardište, and the Primary School “Zelimir Ðuric Zeljo” at Prelevo. Special places of execution included private houses in which the aggressor kept dozens of prisoners. Most of these prisoners were killed, while the rest of them were sent to the hard labour camps. In the “Vilina Vlas” Hotel, Muslim women and teenage girls were subjected to brutal abuse by local Chetniks, then either murdered or exiled from the Višegrad region. The crimes were also committed at the following locations: the old and the new bridge on the River Drina, and near the village of Prelevo. Mass murders were committed there – people were either shot or slaughtered, or simply burned. In a house in Višegrad (on Pionirska Street), 60 people were kept inside and then set on fire, the same happened to 70 people in the Bikavac settlement. The activities of some humanitarian organizations were also abused; through the Red Cross the extremists have formed the so-called refugee committees inviting the non-Serbian population to seek shelter at “more secure places in Tuzla, Skopje, or Hungary”, then taking those gathered to the places of execution.

33. After the Chetniks’ defeat at Zepa, the Serbian terrorists surrounded the village of Zlijeb with the ultimatum that all villagers should move out. Those gathered were taken to the village Obravnje, then by trucks to Višegrad’s Fire House, where they were robbed, women and girls taken out of line and raped. These women were subjected to repeated mistreatment and rape, while the men were slaughtered on the bridge of the River Drina, their heads cut off and kicked, the bodies thrown into the river. While committing these crimes, the terrorists laughed, cursed the Ustashi, shouting that was “the massacre of Zepa people”, and that the “Turkish women will from now on give birth to Serbs and Chetniks”. A retired police officer by the name of Zaric was slaughtered slowly and savagely. The uniforms of the criminals and the bridge itself were all bloodied, while the terrorists themselves boasted that they were slaughtering all men under 50. Those over 50 were beaten up and left to be exchanged later on.

34. On 18 June, the extremists slaughtered 22 Muslims on the new bridge in Višegrad, the executors being Milan Lukic, Jovan Planojevic, and one Momir. The Lukic group tore out the kidneys of several individuals, while the others were tied to cars and dragged through the streets. Children were thrown from the bridge and shot at before they hit the water. Those who organized the ethnic cleansing of the territory also include Mr. Risto Perišic and Mr. Vladimir Tanasijevic, who also issued ultimatums to the Muslim population to move out. Mr. Planojevic took the looted goods to Šeganje. The crimes are also committed by members of the Srpko Popovic group to which Mr. Milan Milovanovic also belongs. They have killed dozens of Muslims, while Mr. Popovic, who in a single day had killed 17 persons, often takes the Muslims to the Višegrad Electric Plant, locks them in a room, then kills them and throws them into the river releasing the water from the reservoir. After having promised safe conduct by buses to the town of Olovo, they put a group of about 60 women, children and old men into a house and set them on fire. The Chetniks have also tied a large number of Muslims and then thrown them into the River Drina from the bridge; the mouths of some of them were stuffed with the explosives which were then detonated. Among the terrorists, the most cruel include the former member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Višegrad: Dragan and Boban Tomic, Nedo Sekulic and his sons Dragan and Veljko, Mirko Lakic and one Lukic. Apart from the Muslim apartments they also loot the apartments of those Serbs they do not regard as loyal. The looters also include Mr. Vlado Tanaskovic, Mr. Borislav Furtula, and one Andric.

35. In some villages the agressors have killed men right away, while some of those captured have been brutally tortured. In the village of Drinsko, Višegrad, Bodo Tabakovic died a terrible death after having been horseshoed. Women and children were put in one of the houses, while the village was looted, then taken to another village which was to be looted, so the group of prisoners multiplied. A group of 58 women and children from the villages of Kurspahici and Koritnik was put in a house which was then set on fire by Slavko Gabrilovic, Mile Joksimovic, Zoran Joksimovic, and Boško Ðuric. Though the Chetniks quarrelled over the looted goods, they still took groups of people from one village to another, thus transporting some of them to the Visoko region. In the village of Musici near Višegrad, Chetnik Lukic threatened women and children, asking them whether they would like to be killed, bombed, or slaughtered. Several days before the attack, the same guaranteed the villagers their peace and security, claiming later on that taking away the male population meant nothing else but a retribution for the killed Serbs. Lukic also took part in bringing a number of teenage girls to the Višegrad Bath, where they were raped, while the mothers who reported these crimes to the so-called Serbian Secretariat of Internal Affairs were told by the Chetniks that “the Turks also do nasty things to Serbian kids”. After repeated attacks by various Chetnik formations and a total plunder of Muslim houses, the so-called Serbian territorials would enter the village and issue ultimatums – that the inhabitants clear out the village “within an hour, never to return”.

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Source: United Nations, Human Rights Committee