Atif Dudaković
| Atif Dudakovic | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 2, 1953 Orahova, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Allegiance | 1976[1] - 1992  Yugoslavia (Yugoslav People's Army)1992 - ?  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Service/branch | Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | Commander of the Fifth Corps |
| Battles/wars | Croatian War of Independence (Battle of Šibenik) Bosnian War (Siege of Bihać, Operation Tiger, Operation Sana) |
Atif Dudaković (born December 2, 1953 in Orahova, Bosanska Gradiška) is a former general in the Bosnian army, commanding the army's Fifth Corps before becoming the general commander of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina army. During the Bosnian War Dudaković was in command of the Bihać enclave that was totally surrounded by Bosnian Serb, Serbian Krajina and renegade Bosniak forces of Fikret Abdić from 1991 to 1995.
Since 2005 he has been under investigation for war crimes allegedly committed against ethnic Serbs in 1995. In 2010, he has joined the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina of Haris Silajdžić.
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[edit] Biography
Dudaković had served in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), teaching at an artillery school in Zadar and a military academy in Belgrade. At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence he served as the artillery superintendent of the 9th Corps of the JNA with headquarters in Knin, and was directly subordinated to the Serb General Ratko Mladić. At this point he left the federal army.
After the outbreak of the war in Bosnia, Dudaković joined the newly established Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). Eventually he became commander of the 5th Corps, defending Bihać. The situation there was difficult as Bihać was surrounded on all sides by enemies of the ARBiH: by the Army of Republika Srpska; by Republic of Serb Krajina; and by forces of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. The 5th Corps successfully defended the enclave and in 1995 broke out from the encirclement and captured the towns of Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanska Krupa, Ključ, Sanski Most and were on the verge of entering Prijedor and Banja Luka before the United States forced an end to the war.
After the war he continued to serve in the Bosnian army, holding the top positions of Deputy Chief of Joint General Staff of Army of Federation and Commander of Joint Command of Army of Federation.
[edit] Controversy
In September 2006, the Serbian media reported that during Operation Sana in 1995, in front of cameras, Dudaković gave an order to burn Serb villages in southern Bosnian Frontier.[2] The media claimed that Dudakovics command of "pali" (fire, shoot, burn) meant to set on fire as in burn homes of fleeing Krajina Serb refugees,[3][4] whereas Dudaković himself said that as an artillery officer, he was simply giving orders to his men to fire solely. After the video was released Dudaković gave a statement saying:
| “ | The Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina was never ordered to commit crimes. If such things happened, then there should be an investigation and the perpetrators punished. ... The film shows the front line. I was normally engaged on the front line directing the artillery. I am an artillery man. The film with its subtitles are the usual product of Serb propaganda which we came across throughout the war and later too. This is why I do not get excited.[2] | ” |
[edit] Military ranks
- Major (1988)
- Brigadier
- Brigadier General (21 August 1994)
- Division General (7 August 1995)
- Lieutenant General
[edit] References
- ^ "Atif Dudakovic (Dudaković)". vojska. 2007. http://www.vojska.net/eng/biography/d/dudakovic/atif/. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
- ^ a b interview with General Atif Dudakovic (Friday, 15 September 2006). "We needed Operation Storm as much as Croatia did". Bosnia Report i. http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2225. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ "Serbs see new 'war crimes' tape". BBC News. Wednesday, 9 August 2006, 05:04 GMT 06:04 UK. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5258610.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ "Snimak neće biti dokaz u Hagu" (in Serbian). B92. 8 August 2006. http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2006&mm=08&dd=08&nav_id=207232. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
