Croat–Bosniak War: Difference between revisions

Croat-Bosniak War
	Part of the Bosnian War
	File:Ratna razaranja-Mostar.jpeg; A war ravaged street in Mostar caused by Bosniak-Croat fighting
Date	June 19, 1992 – February 23, 1994
Location	Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in Central Bosnia and along the Neretva river
Result	Stalemate, Washington Agreement and creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Territorial; changes	Prior to the war the HVO controlled more than 20 percent of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina but at the signing of the Washington agreement less than 10 percent.
Belligerents
Herzeg-Bosnia; Croatia	Republic of; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatian Defence Forces
Commanders and leaders
Franjo Tuđman (President of Croatia) Mate Boban; (President of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia) Milivoj Petković; (HVO Chief of staff) Dario Kordić; (political leader of Croats in central Bosnia) Valentin Ćorić; (commander, HVO military police)	Alija Izetbegović; (President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Sefer Halilović; (ARBiH chief of staff 1992-1993) Rasim Delić; (ARBiH chief of staff 1993-1995) Arif Pašalić; (commander, IV Corps ARBiH) Blaž Kraljević †; (commander, Croatian Defence Forces)

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The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia supported by the Republic of Croatia, that lasted from June 19, 1992^[3] – February 23, 1994. The ICTY effectively determined the war's nature to be international between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders.^[4] The Croat-Bosniak war is often referred to as the war in a war because it was part of the larger Bosnian War.

There are no precise statistics dealing with the casualties of the Croat-Bosniak conflict along ethnic lines. The Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center's (IDC) data from 2007 on human losses in the regions caught in the Croat-Bosniak conflict as part of the wider Bosnian War, however, can serve as a rough approximation. According to this data, in Central Bosnia most of the 10,448 documented casualties (soldiers and civilians) were Bosniaks (62%), with Croats in second (24%) and Serbs (13%) in third place. The municipalities of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Bugojno also geographically located in Central Bosnia (known as Gornje Povrbasje region), with the 1,337 documented casualties are not included in Central Bosnia statistics, but in Vrbas region statistics. Approximately 70-80% of the casualties from Gornje Povrbasje were Bosniaks. In the region of Neretva river of 6,717 casualties, 54% were Bosniaks, 24% Serbs and 21% Croats. The casualties in those regions were mostly but not exclusively the consequence of Croat-Bosniak conflict. To a lesser extent the conflict with the Serbs also resulted in a number of casualties included in the statistics.^[5]

Background

File:Map of Vance-Owen peace plan.png

Vance-Owen Peace Plan

Bosniaks

Croats

Serbs

During the Yugoslav wars, the objectives of nationalists from Croatia were shared by Croat nationalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[6] The ruling party in the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), organized and controlled the branch of the party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the latter part of 1991, the more extreme elements of the party, under the leadership of Mate Boban, Dario Kordić, Jadranko Prlić, Ignac Koštroman and local leaders such as Anto Valenta^[6], and with the support of Franjo Tuđman and Gojko Šušak, had taken effective control of the party.

Following the declaration of independence, the Serbs attacked different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The state administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina effectively ceased to function having lost control over the entire territory. The Croats and their leader Franjo Tuđman also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian. Secret discussions between Franjo Tuđman and Slobodan Milošević on the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina were held as early as March 1991 known as the Karađorđevo agreement. The policies of the Republic of Croatia and its leader Franjo Tuđman towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were never totally transparent and always included Franjo Tuđman’s ultimate aim of expanding Croatia’s borders.^[7]

On November 18, 1991, the party branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina, proclaimed the existence of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, as a separate "political, cultural, economic and territorial whole," on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[8]

The ICTY illustrated this with the minutes of a meeting held on November 12, 1991 and signed by Mate Boban and Dario Kordić: "the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina must finally embrace a determined and active policy which will realise our eternal dream – a common Croatian state". On April 10, 1992, Mate Boban decreed that the Bosnian Territorial Defence (TO), which had been created the day before, was illegal on self-proclaimed Croat territory. On May 11, Tihomir Blaškić declared the TO illegal on the territory of the Kiseljak municipality.^[6]

On May 6, 1992, the Graz agreement between Mate Boban and Radovan Karadžić was signed, establishing a cease fire between Croat and Serb forces and the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina into Croatian and Serbian units.^[9] This subsequently broke Croat-Bosniak relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and between the states of the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[9]

In June 1992 the focus switched to Novi Travnik and Gornji Vakuf where the Croat Defence Council (HVO) efforts to gain control were resisted. On June 18, 1992 the Bosnian Territorial Defence in Novi Travnik received an ultimatum from the HVO which included demands to abolish existing Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions, establish the authority of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia and pledge allegiance to it, subordinate the Territorial Defense to the HVO and expel Muslim refugees, all within 24 hours. The attack was launched on June 19. The elementary school and the Post Office were attacked and damaged.^[3] Gornji Vakuf was initially attacked by Croats on June 20, 1992, but the attack failed.^{[citation needed]} Armed incidents started to occur among Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the summer of 1992 between the HVO and the HOS.^[9] The HVO favoured an ethnic partition of the republic while the HOS fought together with the Muslims for the territorial integrity of the state.^[9] One of the primary pro-union Croat leaders, Blaž Kraljević (leader of the HOS armed group) was killed by HVO soldiers in August 1992, leading to the dissolution of the primary group in support of a Bosniak-Croat alliance.^[9] The situation became more serious in October 1992 when Croat forces attacked Bosniak civilian population in Prozor burning their homes and killing civilians. According to Jadranko Prlić indictment, HVO forces cleansed most of the Muslims from the town of Prozor and several surrounding villages.^[8]

In the latter half of 1992, foreign Mujahideen hailing mainly from North Africa and the Middle East began to arrive in central Bosnia and set up camps for combatant training with the intent of helping their "Muslim brothers" against the Serbs.^[10] These foreign volunteers were primarily organized into an umbrella detachment of the 7th Muslim Brigade (made up of native Bosniaks) of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) in Zenica.^[11] Initially, the Mujahideen gave basic necessities including food to local Muslims.^[10] When the Croat–Bosniak conflict began they joined the ARBiH in battles against the HVO.^[10]

By December 1992, much of Central Bosnia was in the hands of the Croats. The Croat forces had taken control of the municipalities of the Lašva Valley and had only met significant opposition in Novi Travnik and Ahmići.^[12] Bosniak authorities forbade Croats from leaving towns such as Bugojno and Zenica, and would periodically organise exchanges of local Croats for Muslims.^[11]

The ICTY Trial Chamber in the Kordić and Čerkez case decided that the weight of the evidence points clearly to the persecution of Bosniak civilians in the Central Bosnian municipalities taken over by the Croat forces: Busovača, Novi Travnik, Vareš, Kiseljak, Vitez, Kreševo and Žepče. The persecution followed a consistent pattern in each municipality and demonstrated that the HVO had launched a campaign against the Bosniaks in them ^[13] with the hope that the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia should secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina and with a view towards unification with Croatia.^[14]

Until 1993 the HVO and the Bosnian Army (ARBiH) had been fighting side by side against the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in some areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though armed confrontation and events like the Totić kidnappings strained the relationship between the HVO and ARBiH, the Croat-Bosniak alliance held in the Bihać pocket (northwest Bosnia) and the Bosanska Posavina (north), in which both were heavily outmatched by Serb forces.

Chronology

Gornji Vakuf shelling (January 1993)

On January 1993 Croat forces attacked Gornji Vakuf again in order to connect Herzegovina with Central Bosnia.^[8] Gornji Vakuf is a town to the south of the Lašva Valley and of strategic importance at a crossroads en route to Central Bosnia. It is 48 kilometres from Novi Travnik and about one hour’s drive from Vitez in an armoured vehicle. For Croats it was a very important connection between the Lašva Valley and Herzegovina, two territories included in the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. The Croat forces shelling reduced much of the historical oriental center of the town of Gornji Vakuf to rubble.^[15]

On January 10, 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the Croat Defence Council (HVO) commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Tihomir Blaškić and Dario Kordić, (later convicted by ICTY of war crimes and crimes against humanity i.e. ethnic cleansing) for rounds of mortar shells available at the ammunition factory in Vitez.^[16] Fighting then broke out in Gornji Vakuf on January 11, 1993, sparked by a bomb which had been placed by Croats in a Bosniak-owned hotel that had been used as a military headquarters. A general outbreak of fighting followed and there was heavy shelling of the town that night by Croat artillery.^[15]

During cease-fire negotiations at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, colonel Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground.^[15]^[17] The HVO demands were not accepted by the Bosnian Army and the attack continued, followed by massacres on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica.^[18]^[19] During the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing it was surrounded by Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council for seven months and attacked with heavy artillery and other weapons (tanks and snipers). Although Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that there were no Muslim holy warriors in Gornji Vakuf (commonly known as Mujahideen) and that his soldiers had not seen any. The shelling campaign and the attackes during the war resulted in hundreds of either injured or killed, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians.^[15]

On the morning of January 25, 1993, Croat forces attacked the Bosniak part of the town of Busovača called Kadića Strana following the January 20 ultimatum. The attack included shelling from the surrounding hills. A loudspeaker called on Bosniaks to surrender. A police report shows that 43 people were massacred in Busovača in January and February 1993. The remaining Bosniaks (around 90 in all) were rounded up in the town square. Women and children (around 20 in total) were allowed to return home and the men (70 in all), some as young as 14–16 years, were loaded onto buses and taken to Kaonik camp. The violence continued after the January attack.^[20]

Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing (April 1993)

The Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing campaign against Bosniak civilians planned by the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia's political and military leadership from May 1992 to March 1993 and erupting the following April, was meant to implement objectives set forth by Croat nationalists in November 1991.^[6] The Lašva Valley's Bosniaks were subjected to persecution on political, racial and religious grounds^[21], deliberately discriminated against in the context of a widespread attack on the region's civilian population^[22] and suffered mass murder, rape, imprisonment in camps, as well as the destruction of cultural sites and private property. This was often followed by anti-Bosniak propaganda, particularly in the municipalities of Vitez, Busovača, Novi Travnik and Kiseljak. Ahmići massacre in April 1993, was the culmination of the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing, resulting in mass killing of Bosnian Muslim civilians in just a few hours. An estimate puts the death toll at 120. The youngest was a three-month-old baby, who was machine-gunned to death in his crib, and the oldest was a 96-year-old woman.^{[citation needed]} It is the biggest massacre committed during the conflict between Croats and the Bosnian government.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has ruled that these crimes amounted to crimes against humanity in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders and soldiers, most notably Dario Kordić.^[23] Based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time, the ICTY Trial Chamber concluded in the Kordić and Čerkez case that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and instigator of this plan.^[24] According to the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center (IDC), around 2,000 Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley are missing or were killed during this period.^[25] The events inspired the British television drama serial Warriors.

War in Herzegovina (April 1993)

The Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia took control of many municipal governments and services in Herzegovina as well, removing or marginalising local Bosniak leaders. Herzeg-Bosnia took control of the media and imposed Croatian ideas and propaganda. Croatian symbols and currency were introduced, and Croatian curricula and the Croatian language were introduced in schools. Many Bosniaks and Serbs were removed from positions in government and private business; humanitarian aid was managed and distributed to the Bosniaks' and Serbs' disadvantage; and Bosniaks in general were increasingly harassed. Many of them were deported into concentration camps: Heliodrom, Dretelj, Gabela, Vojno and Šunje.^[26]^[23]^{[failed verification]}

According to ICTY judgment in Naletilić-Martinović case Croat forces attacked the villages of Sovici and Doljani, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Mostar in the morning on April 17, 1993. The attack was part of a larger HVO offensive aimed at taking Jablanica, the main Bosnian Muslim dominated town in the area. The HVO commanders had calculated that they needed two days to take Jablanica. The location of Sovici was of strategic significance for the HVO as it was on the way to Jablanica. For the Bosnian Army it was a gateway to the plateau of Risovac, which could create conditions for further progression towards the Adriatic coast. The larger HVO offensive on Jablanica had already started on April 15, 1993. The artillery destroyed the upper part of Sovici. The Bosnian Army was fighting back, but at about five p.m. the Bosnian Army commander in Sovici, surrendered. Approximately 70 to 75 soldiers surrendered. In total, at least 400 Bosnian Muslim civilians were detained. The HVO advance towards Jablanica was halted after a cease-fire agreement had been negotiated.^[27]

Siege of Mostar (Spring-Summer 1993)

Mostar was surrounded by the Croat forces for nine months, and much of its historic city was severely destroyed in shelling including the famous Stari Most bridge.^[28] Slobodan Praljak, the commander of the Croatian Defence Council, is currently on trial at the ICTY for ordering the destruction of the bridge, among other charges.^[28]

Mostar was divided into a Western part, which was dominated by the Croat forces and an Eastern part where the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was largely concentrated. However, the Bosnian Army had its headquarters in West Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. In the early hours of May 9, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked Mostar using artillery, mortars, heavy weapons and small arms. The HVO controlled all roads leading into Mostar and international organisations were denied access. Radio Mostar announced that all Bosniaks should hang out a white flag from their windows. The HVO attack had been well prepared and planned.^[29]

The Croats took over the west side of the city and expelled thousands^[28] Bosniaks from the west side into the east side of the city. The HVO shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The JNA (Yugoslav Army) demolished Carinski Bridge, Titov Bridge and Lucki Bridge over the river excluding the Stari Most. HVO forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar.^{[citation needed]} HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.^[28]

In April 1993 and early summer 1993, ABiH 3rd Corps units launched a series of heavy attacks against the HVO. On April 16 in the village of Trusina, members of the ABiH army sqaud called "Zulfikar" killed 18 Croat civilians and 4 soldiers.^[30]^[31] According to witness testimony, the unit rounded up a group of Croat residents captured soldiers, bound and shot them. A member of the Zulfikar unit, Rasema Handanovic, admitted taking part in the murders under orders from commander Nihad Bojadzic who ordered the killing of the prisoners and “not to leave any survivors”.^[32]

The June 1993 Offensives (June 1993)

In June 1993 further fighting broke out in Central Bosnia, some of it caused by the newly revitalised Bosnian Army.^[33] Further complications were caused with the incident between Croats and UNPROFOR known as The Convoy of Joy Incident. This convoy of aid supplies was made up of several hundred trucks, was seven kilometres in length and was bound for Tuzla. On June 7, 1993, two members of the delegation wrote to the European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM) at Zenica about their fears for the safety of the convoy when it reached the area of Travnik and Vitez in the light of threats made to it by Mate Boban (whom the delegation had met). As a result the ECMM decided to monitor the convoy. The convoy then made its way to Central Bosnia and the area of Novi Travnik. There it was stopped at a roadblock formed by a large crowd of Croat women at Rankovići, north of Novi Travnik. Eight of the drivers were shot and killed, vehicles were driven away and the convoy was looted by civilians and soldiers. Eventually the convoy was released. In defending the convoy Britbat shot and killed two HVO soldiers. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the crowds which stopped the Convoy of Joy were under the control of Dario Kordić and colonel Blaškić.^[34]

Bosnian Army attacked the HVO in the Travnik municipality in the first week of June. By June 13, the Bosnian Army had taken Travnik and the surrounding villages.^[35] Several witnesses testified that 20,000 Croat refugees had come from Travnik as a result of the Bosnian Army offensive.^[34] However, according to an ECMM Report the first reports of ethnic cleansing and destruction were exaggerated. On June 8, there was fighting in Guča Gora with reports of atrocities and destruction, the Catholic church in flames and thousands fleeing. These reports were investigated by two ECMM monitors. They found the church still standing and the claims of destruction to be exaggerated. The movement of population was organised by the HVO. According to report dated June 9, 1993 it is the first time that the Bosnian Army have taken the military initiative against the HVO in Central Bosnia. On all other occasions the Bosnian Army have responded to HVO aggression (Gornji Vakuf, Vitez and Mostar).^[35]

On June 9, 1993 HVO retaliated in Novi Travnik.^[36] On June 12-13, 1993 the HVO attacked villages in the Kiseljak municipality, beginning with Tulica on June 12 resulting in the deaths of at least twelve men and women and the destruction of the village. The attack began with heavy shelling of the village followed by an infantry attack from several directions. The surviving men were loaded onto a truck and taken to Kiseljak barracks. Shortly after the attack on Tulica, the associated villages of Han Ploča and Grahovci were also subject to attack. The HVO issued an ultimatum to the Bosniaks to surrender their weapons. After the ultimatum expired, the village was shelled by the HVO and the Serb Army, and houses were set on fire. An HVO infantry attack followed. Having come into the village, HVO soldiers lined up three Bosniak men against a wall and shot them. In all 64 people were killed during the attack or after HVO capture. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that the attacks on Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci were part of a sustained HVO attack in which civilians were murdered and subjected to inhumane treatment.^[37]

The series of attacks culminated in a massive attack between 7 June and 13 June 1993 within, among others, the municipalities of Kakanj, Travnik and Zenica.^[38] The ABiH 3rd Corps attacked towns and villages, subjecting predominantly Bosnian Croat, but also Bosnian Serb civilians, including women, children, the elderly and the infirm, to willful killings and serious injuries.^[10] Further, in the course of, or after the attacks, at least 200 Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Serb civilians were killed and many more were wounded or harmed while attempting to hide or escape.^[10] In a music school turned detention centre, 47 Bosnian Croats were held without food for the first week and in a cellar with no light for 45 days, and were beaten with telephone cables, batons and shovel handles during interrogations.^[11] In several instances, ABiH forces killed HVO troops after their surrender.^[10]

Grabovica and Uzdol Killings (September 1993)

Bosnian Army launched an operation known as Neretva 93 against the Croatian Defence Council and Croatian Army in September 1993 in order to end the siege of Mostar and to recapture areas of Herzegovina, which were included in self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. The operation was stopped by Bosnian authorities after it received the information about the massacre on Croat civilians in the village of Grabovica.

During the night on September 8th or 9th, at 33 Croat villagers in Grabovica were killed by members of the 9th Brigade and unidentified members of the Bosnian Army.^[39]^[40] Three combatants, Nihad Vlahovljak, Haris Rajkić and Sead Karagić were convicted for taking part in the killings.^[41] A few days later on the 14th, in the village of Uzdol, it was reported that 29 Croat civilians and one prisoner of war were killed by the Prozor Independent Battalion and members of the local police force.^[42]

Aftermath

The Croat-Bosniak war officially ended on February 23, 1994 when the Commander of HVO, general Ante Roso and commander of Bosnian Army, general Rasim Delić, signed a ceasefire agreement in Zagreb. In March 1994 a peace agreement mediated by the USA between the warring Croats (represented by Republic of Croatia) and Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed in Washington and Vienna. It is known as the Washington Agreement. Under this agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the start of the war, the HVO had controlled more than 20 percent of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; just before the signing of the Washington agreement, however, it was less than 10 percent.^[2]

The Croat leadership (Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić and Berislav Pušić) is presently on trial at the ICTY on charges including crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws and customs of war. Dario Kordić, political leader of Croats in Central Bosnia was convicted of the crimes against humanity in Central Bosnia i.e. ethnic cleansing and sentenced to 25 years in prison.^[23]

Bosnian commander Sefer Halilović was charged with one count of violation of the laws and customs of war on the basis of superior criminal responsibility of the incidents during Operation Neretva '93 and found not guilty.^[43] Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura, both high level commanders in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) were convicted and sentenced to five years and two and a half years imprisonment respectively.^[44]

In 1993, the Mujahideen were accused of massacres and war crimes against the Croat population in central Bosnia, including the villages of Miletici (April 24), Maljine (June 8), Doljani (27-28 June), Bistrica (August), Kriz and Uzdol (14 September), and Kopijari (21 October), with an estimated number of at least 120 killed.^[11] In many cases, cruel mutilations were found on the corpses, said to be the work of the Mujahideen.^[11] On September 16, 1993 the Bosnian Army condemned of the killings carried out in Kriz and Uzdol and promised to persecute those responsible.^[11] On October 15, 1993, the United Nations Special Rapporteur wrote to Izetbegović, lauding the effort and requested that the other killings be also investigated.^[11] He also requested to know what procedures existed to subordinate irregular troops to the Bosnian Army's command structure and what actions were used to enforce discipline.^[11] On October 22, 1993, Izetbegović responded and in his letter condemned the killings and assured that an invstigation had begun.^[11]

Croatia's president Ivo Josipović made an official visit to Bosnia in April 2010 during which he expressed a "deep regret" for Croatia's contribution "to the deaths of people and divisions" that still exists in the Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[45]

Gallery

Ethnic composition in 1991
The front lines in 1993, while Croatian Defence Council (blue) was still allied with the Bosnian Army (green)

The front lines in 1993, while Croatian Defence Council (blue) was still allied with the Bosnian Army (green)
The front lines in 1994, at the end of the Bosniak-Croat war and after the signing of the Washington Agreement
The front lines in 1995, before Operation Storm

The front lines in 1995, before Operation Storm
The front lines in 1995, before the Dayton Agreement

The front lines in 1995, before the Dayton Agreement
map of Bosniak-Croat conflict

map of Bosniak-Croat conflict

External links

Related films

Warriors at IMDb
The Death of Yugoslavia at IMDb - Part III. The Struggle for Bosnia

References

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^ "ICTY: Conflict between Bosnia and Croatia".
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^ "SENSE Tribunal: "James Dean" u Gornjem Vakufu".
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^ "ICTY: Summary of sentencing judgement for Miroslav Bralo".
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^ "IDC: Victim statistics in Novi Travnik, Vitez, Kiseljak and Busovača".
^ "ICTY: Blaškić verdict" (PDF).
^ ICTY (Naletilic-Matinovic): 1. Sovici and Doljani- the attack on 17 April 1993 and the following days [3]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "ICTY: Prlić et al. (IT-04-74)" (PDF).
^ "ICTY: Naletilić and Martinović verdict - Mostar attack" (PDF).
^ "Memic et al: Witnessing the Shooting of Captives". Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. 11 April 2011.
^ "Bosnian woman pleads guilty to war crimes". The Montreal Gazette. 28 April 2012.
^ "Witness Admits to Trusina Killings". Balkan insight. 02 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Kordic and Cerkez verdict - IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - [4]
^ ^a ^b Kordic and Cerkez verdict - IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - 1. The Convoy of Joy - [5]
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^ ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 3. The HVO Offensives in June 1993 - (b) Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci [8]
^ Chuck Sudetich (30 June 1993). "10 Leaders in Bosnia Try To Heal Rift Over Talks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
^ "Kill All Croats in the Village". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
^ "Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
^ "Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
^ "Judgement in the Case the Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
^ Sefer Halilović - Judgement
^ Tribunal Convicts Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura
^ "Josipovic apologizes for Croatia´s role in war in Bosnia". Croatian Times. April 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Text "April 16, 2010" ignored (help)

[1] "IT-98-34-T, the Prosecutor versus Naletilic and Martinovic". ICTY. 17 July 2002. Retrieved 2007-09-25.

[magas-2] Magaš, Branka; Žanić, Ivo (2001). The War in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1991-1995. Taylor & Francis. p. 66.

[un.org-3] ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - II. PERSECUTION: THE HVO TAKE-OVERS B. Novi Travnik - [1]

[4] "ICTY: Conflict between Bosnia and Croatia".

[5] RDC - Research results (2007) - Human Losses in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1991-1995 [2]

[ICTY:_Blaškić_verdict_-_A._The_Lasva_Valley:_May_1992_–_January_1993-6] "ICTY: Blaškić verdict - A. The Lasva Valley: May 1992 – January 1993t" (PDF). Cite error: The named reference "ICTY: Blaškić verdict - A. The Lasva Valley: May 1992 – January 1993" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[ICTY:_Naletilić_and_Martinović_verdict_-_A._Historical_background-7] "ICTY: Naletilić and Martinović verdict - A. Historical background" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Prlić_et_al._(IT-04-74)-8] "ICTY: Prlić et al. (IT-04-74)" (PDF).

[lukic-9] Lukic, Rénéo; Lynch, Allen (1996). Europe From the Balkans to the Urals: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Oxford University Press. pp. 212, 215. ISBN 0-19-829200-7.

[ehak-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f International Criminal Tribunal for the for the former Yugoslavia. "Case Information Sheet - Hadžihasanović and Kubura" (PDF). Retrieved 12 April 2012.

[UNHCHR-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Mazowiecki, Tadeusz (17 November 1993). "Fifth periodic report on the situation of human rights in the territory of the former Yugoslavia". United Nations - Commission on Human Rights.

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_III._Events_leading_to_the_conflict-12] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - III. Events leading to the conflict" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_II._Persecution:_F._Trial_Chamber_Findings-13] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - II. Persecution: F. Trial Chamber Findings" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_E._The_Parties’_Cases_and_Trial_Chamber_Findings-14] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - E. The Parties' Cases and Trial Chamber Findings" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_IV._Attacks_on_towns_and_villages:_killings_-_2._The_Conflict_in_Gornji_Vakuf-15] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_IV._Attacks_on_towns_and_villages:_killings_-_4._Role_of_Dario_Kordić-16] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 4. Role of Dario Kordić" (PDF).

[SENSE_Tribunal:_Poziv_na_predaju-17] "SENSE Tribunal: Poziv na predaju".

[SENSE_Tribunal:_Ko_je_počeo_rat_u_Gornjem_Vakufu?-18] "SENSE Tribunal: Ko je počeo rat u Gornjem Vakufu".

[SENSE_Tribunal:-19] "SENSE Tribunal: "James Dean" u Gornjem Vakufu".

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_IV._Attacks_on_towns_and_villages:_killings_-_Busovača-20] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - Busovača" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Initial_indictment_for_the_ethnic_cleansing_of_the_Lasva_Valley_area_-_Part_II-21] "ICTY (1995): Initial indictment for the ethnic cleansing of the Lasva Valley area - Part II".

[ICTY:_Summary_of_sentencing_judgement_for_Miroslav_Bralo-22] "ICTY: Summary of sentencing judgement for Miroslav Bralo".

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict-23] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Kordić_and_Čerkez_verdict_-_IV._Attacks_on_towns_and_villages:_killings_-_C._The_April_1993_Conflagration_in_Vitez_and_the_Lašva_Valley_-_3._The_Attack_on_Ahmići_(Paragraph_642)-24] "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - C. The April 1993 Conflagration in Vitez and the Lašva Valley - 3. The Attack on Ahmići (Paragraph 642)" (PDF).

[IDC:_Victim_statistics_in_Novi_Travnik,_Vitez,_Kiseljak_and_Busovača-25] "IDC: Victim statistics in Novi Travnik, Vitez, Kiseljak and Busovača".

[ICTY:_Blaškić_verdict-26] "ICTY: Blaškić verdict" (PDF).

[27] ICTY (Naletilic-Matinovic): 1. Sovici and Doljani- the attack on 17 April 1993 and the following days [3]

[ICTY:_Prlić_''et_al.''_(IT-04-74)-28] "ICTY: Prlić et al. (IT-04-74)" (PDF).

[ICTY:_Naletilić_and_Martinović_verdict-29] "ICTY: Naletilić and Martinović verdict - Mostar attack" (PDF).

[30] "Memic et al: Witnessing the Shooting of Captives". Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. 11 April 2011.

[31] "Bosnian woman pleads guilty to war crimes". The Montreal Gazette. 28 April 2012.

[32] "Witness Admits to Trusina Killings". Balkan insight. 02 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[33] Kordic and Cerkez verdict - IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - [4]

[ReferenceA-34] Kordic and Cerkez verdict - IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - 1. The Convoy of Joy - [5]

[ReferenceB-35] ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 2. The Conflict in Travnik and Zenica - [6]

[36] ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 3. The HVO Offensives in June 1993 - (a) Novi Travnik [7]

[37] ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 3. The HVO Offensives in June 1993 - (b) Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci [8]

[38] Chuck Sudetich (30 June 1993). "10 Leaders in Bosnia Try To Heal Rift Over Talks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-04-23.

[sd-39] "Kill All Croats in the Village". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

[40] "Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

[41] "Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

[ictygu-42] "Judgement in the Case the Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

[43] Sefer Halilović - Judgement

[44] Tribunal Convicts Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura

[45] "Josipovic apologizes for Croatia´s role in war in Bosnia". Croatian Times. April 15, 2010. {{cite web}}: Text "April 16, 2010" ignored (help)

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@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 {{Main|Chronology of the Croat-Bosniak war}}
-===Gornji Vakuf shelling===
+===Gornji Vakuf shelling (January 1993)===
 On January 1993 Croat forces attacked Gornji Vakuf again in order to connect [[Herzegovina]] with Central Bosnia.<ref name="ICTY: Prlić et al. (IT-04-74)"/> Gornji Vakuf is a [[town]] to the south of the Lašva Valley and of strategic importance at a [[Junction (road)|crossroad]]s en route to Central Bosnia. It is 48 kilometres from [[Novi Travnik]] and about one hour’s drive from [[Vitez]] in an armoured vehicle. For Croats it was a very important connection between the Lašva Valley and [[Herzegovina]], two territories included in the self-proclaimed [[Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia]]. The Croat forces shelling reduced much of the historical oriental center of the town of Gornji Vakuf to rubble.<ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf}}</ref>
@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 On the morning of January 25, 1993, Croat forces attacked the Bosniak part of the town of Busovača called Kadića Strana following the January 20 ultimatum. The attack included [[shelling]] from the surrounding hills. A loudspeaker called on Bosniaks to surrender. A police report shows that 43 people were massacred in Busovača in January and February 1993. The remaining Bosniaks (around 90 in all) were rounded up in the town square. Women and children (around 20 in total) were allowed to return home and the men (70 in all), some as young as 14–16 years, were loaded onto [[bus]]es and taken to Kaonik camp. The violence continued after the January attack.<ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - Busovača">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - Busovača}}</ref>
-===Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing===
+===Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing (April 1993)===
 {{Main|Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing}}
 [[File:Vitez massacre.jpg|thumb|Bodies of people killed in April 1993 around Vitez. (Photograph provided courtesy of the ICTY)]]
@@ Line 92: / Line 92: @@
 The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ([[ICTY]]) has ruled that these crimes amounted to [[crimes against humanity]] in numerous verdicts against Croat political and military leaders and soldiers, most notably [[Dario Kordić]].<ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict}}</ref> Based on the evidence of numerous HVO attacks at that time, the ICTY Trial Chamber concluded in the ''Kordić and Čerkez case'' that by April 1993 Croat leadership had a common design or plan conceived and executed to ethnically cleanse Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley. Dario Kordić, as the local political leader, was found to be the planner and [[wikt:instigator|instigator]] of this plan.<ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - C. The April 1993 Conflagration in Vitez and the Lašva Valley - 3. The Attack on Ahmići (Paragraph 642)">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - C. The April 1993 Conflagration in Vitez and the Lašva Valley - 3. The Attack on Ahmići (Paragraph 642)}}</ref> According to the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center (IDC), around 2,000 Bosniaks from the Lašva Valley are missing or were killed during this period.<ref name="IDC: Victim statistics in Novi Travnik, Vitez, Kiseljak and Busovača">{{cite web|url=http://www.idc.org.ba/aboutus/Overview_of_jobs_according_to_%20centers.htm|title=IDC: Victim statistics in Novi Travnik, Vitez, Kiseljak and Busovača}}</ref> The events inspired the [[United Kingdom|British]] television drama serial ''[[Warriors (TV series)|Warriors]]''.
-===War in Herzegovina===
+===War in Herzegovina (April 1993)===
 The [[Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia]] took control of many municipal governments and services in [[Herzegovina]] as well, removing or marginalising local Bosniak leaders. Herzeg-Bosnia took control of the media and imposed Croatian [[idea]]s and [[propaganda]]. Croatian [[symbol]]s and [[currency]] were introduced, and Croatian curricula and the Croatian language were introduced in schools. Many Bosniaks and Serbs were removed from positions in government and private business; humanitarian aid was managed and distributed to the Bosniaks' and Serbs' disadvantage; and Bosniaks in general were increasingly harassed. Many of them were deported into [[concentration camp]]s: [[Heliodrom camp|Heliodrom]], Dretelj, Gabela, Vojno and Šunje.<ref name="ICTY: Blaškić verdict">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/blaskic/tjug/en/bla-tj000303e.pdf|title=ICTY: Blaškić verdict}}</ref><ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2011}}
 According to ICTY judgment in ''Naletilić-Martinović case'' Croat forces attacked the villages of Sovici and Doljani, about {{convert|50|km}}  north of Mostar in the morning on April 17, 1993. The attack was part of a larger HVO offensive aimed at taking [[Jablanica]], the main Bosnian Muslim dominated town in the area. The HVO commanders had calculated that they needed two days to take Jablanica. The location of Sovici was of strategic significance for the HVO as it was on the way to Jablanica. For the Bosnian Army it was a gateway to the plateau of Risovac, which could create conditions for further progression towards the Adriatic coast. The larger HVO offensive on Jablanica had already started on April 15, 1993. The artillery destroyed the upper part of Sovici. The Bosnian Army was fighting back, but at about five p.m. the Bosnian Army commander in Sovici, surrendered. Approximately 70 to 75 soldiers surrendered. In total, at least 400 Bosnian Muslim civilians were detained. The HVO advance towards Jablanica was halted after a cease-fire agreement had been negotiated.<ref>ICTY (Naletilic-Matinovic): 1. Sovici and Doljani- the attack on 17 April 1993 and the following days [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/naletilic_martinovic/tjug/en/nal-tj030331-e.pdf]</ref>
+===Siege of Mostar (Spring-Summer 1993)===
-On April 16 Bosnian Army launched an attack aginst HVO in the village of [[Trusina (Konjic)|Trusina]]. The members of the Bosnian Army sqaud called "Zulfikar" killed 18 Croat civilians and 4 soldiers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memic et al: Witnessing the Shooting of Captives|url=http://www.bim.ba/en/265/10/32163/|newspaper=Balkan Investigative Reporting Network|date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bosnian woman pleads guilty to war crimes|url=http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Bosnian+woman+pleads+guilty+crimes/6533343/story.html| newspaper=The Montreal Gazette|date=28 April 2012}}</ref>
-===Siege of Mostar===
 [[Mostar]] was surrounded by the Croat forces for nine months, and much of its historic city was severely destroyed in [[shelling]] including the famous [[Stari Most]] bridge.<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/prlic/cis/en/cis_prlic_al_en.pdf|title=ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)}}</ref> [[Slobodan Praljak]], the commander of the [[Croatian Defence Council]], is currently on trial at the [[ICTY]] for ordering the destruction of the bridge, among other charges.<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)"/>
 Mostar was divided into a Western part, which was dominated by the Croat forces and an Eastern part where the [[Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] was largely concentrated. However, the Bosnian Army had its headquarters in West Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. In the early hours of May 9, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked Mostar using artillery, mortars, heavy weapons and small arms. The HVO controlled all roads leading into Mostar and international organisations were denied access. Radio Mostar announced that all Bosniaks should hang out a white flag from their windows. The HVO attack had been well prepared and planned.<ref name="ICTY: Naletilić and Martinović verdict">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/naletilic_martinovic/tjug/en/nal-tj030331-e.pdf|title=ICTY: Naletilić and Martinović verdict - Mostar attack}}</ref>
-The Croats took over the west side of the city and expelled thousands<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)"/> Bosniaks from the west side into the east side of the city. The HVO shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The JNA (Yugoslav Army) demolished Carinski Bridge, Titov Bridge and Lucki Bridge over the river excluding the [[Stari Most]]. HVO forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar. HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)"/>
+The Croats took over the west side of the city and expelled thousands<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)"/> Bosniaks from the west side into the east side of the city. The HVO shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The JNA (Yugoslav Army) demolished Carinski Bridge, Titov Bridge and Lucki Bridge over the river excluding the [[Stari Most]]. HVO forces (and its smaller divisions) engaged in a mass execution, ethnic cleansing and rape on the Bosniak people of the West Mostar and its surrounds and a fierce siege and shelling campaign on the Bosnian Government run East Mostar.{{cn|date=May 2012}} HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injured and killed.<ref name="ICTY: Prlić ''et al.'' (IT-04-74)"/>
+In April 1993 and early summer 1993, ABiH 3rd Corps units launched a series of heavy attacks against the HVO. On April 16 in the village of [[Trusina (Konjic)|Trusina]], members of the ABiH army sqaud called "Zulfikar" killed 18 Croat civilians and 4 soldiers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memic et al: Witnessing the Shooting of Captives|url=http://www.bim.ba/en/265/10/32163/|newspaper=Balkan Investigative Reporting Network|date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bosnian woman pleads guilty to war crimes|url=http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Bosnian+woman+pleads+guilty+crimes/6533343/story.html| newspaper=The Montreal Gazette|date=28 April 2012}}</ref> According to witness testimony, the unit rounded up a group of Croat residents captured soldiers, bound and shot them. A member of the Zulfikar unit, Rasema Handanovic, admitted taking part in the murders under orders from commander [[Nihad Bojadzic]] who ordered the killing of the prisoners and “not to leave any survivors”.<ref>{{cite news|title=Witness Admits to Trusina Killings|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/witness-says-defendant-ordered-trusina-killings| newspaper=Balkan insight|date=02 April 2012}}</ref>
-===The June 1993 Offensives===
+===The June 1993 Offensives (June 1993)===
 In June 1993 further fighting broke out in Central Bosnia, some of it caused by the newly revitalised Bosnian Army.<ref>Kordic and Cerkez verdict -  IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - [http://www.un.org/icty/kordic/trialc/judgement/kor-tj010226e-5.htm#IVD]</ref>  Further complications were caused with the incident between Croats and [[UNPROFOR]] known as ''The Convoy of Joy Incident''. This convoy of [[aid]] supplies was made up of several hundred [[truck]]s, was seven kilometres in length and was bound for [[Tuzla]]. On June 7, 1993, two members of the delegation wrote to the European Community Monitor Mission ([[ECMM]]) at [[Zenica]] about their fears for the safety of the convoy when it reached the area of [[Travnik]] and Vitez in the light of threats made to it by [[Mate Boban]] (whom the delegation had met). As a result the ECMM decided to monitor the convoy. The convoy then made its way to Central Bosnia and the area of Novi Travnik. There it was stopped at a [[roadblock]] formed by a large [[crowd]] of Croat [[women]] at Rankovići, north of Novi Travnik. Eight of the drivers were shot and killed, [[vehicle]]s were driven away and the convoy was looted by civilians and soldiers. Eventually the convoy was released. In defending the convoy Britbat shot and killed two HVO soldiers. The ICTY Trial Chamber concluded that the crowds which stopped the Convoy of Joy were under the control of Dario Kordić and colonel Blaškić.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kordic and Cerkez verdict -  IV. ATTACKS ON TOWNS AND VILLAGES: KILLINGS - D. The June and October Offensives - 1. The Convoy of Joy - [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf]</ref>
@@ Line 113: / Line 113: @@
 On June 9, 1993 HVO retaliated in Novi Travnik.<ref>ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 3. The HVO Offensives in June 1993 - (a) Novi Travnik [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf]</ref> On June 12-13, 1993 the HVO attacked villages in the Kiseljak municipality, beginning with Tulica on June 12 resulting in the deaths of at least twelve men and women and the destruction of the village. The attack began with heavy shelling of the village followed by an infantry attack from several directions. The surviving men were loaded onto a truck and taken to Kiseljak barracks. Shortly after the attack on Tulica, the associated villages of Han Ploča and Grahovci were also subject to attack. The HVO issued an [[ultimatum]] to the Bosniaks to surrender their [[weapon]]s. After the ultimatum expired, the village was shelled by the HVO and the Serb Army, and houses were set on fire. An HVO [[infantry]] attack followed. Having come into the village, HVO soldiers lined up three Bosniak men against a wall and shot them. In all 64 people were killed during the attack or after HVO capture. The ICTY Trial Chamber found that the attacks on Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci were part of a sustained HVO attack in which civilians were murdered and subjected to inhumane treatment.<ref>ICTY - Kordic and Cerkez judgment - 3. The HVO Offensives in June 1993 - (b) Tulica and Han Ploca–Grahovci [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kordic_cerkez/tjug/en/kor-tj010226e.pdf]</ref>
+The series of attacks culminated in a massive attack between 7 June and 13 June 1993 within, among others, the municipalities of Kakanj, Travnik and Zenica.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 30 June 1993 | author = Chuck Sudetich | title = 10 Leaders in Bosnia Try To Heal Rift Over Talks. | url = http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/30/world/10-leaders-in-bosnia-try-to-heal-rift-over-talks.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm | accessdate = 2012-04-23}}</ref> The ABiH 3rd Corps attacked towns and villages, subjecting predominantly Bosnian Croat, but also Bosnian Serb civilians, including women, children, the elderly and the infirm, to willful killings and serious injuries.<ref name="ehak"/> Further, in the course of, or after the attacks, at least 200 Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Serb civilians were killed and many more were wounded or harmed while attempting to hide or escape.<ref name="ehak"/> In a music school turned detention centre, 47 Bosnian Croats were held without food for the first week and in a cellar with no light for 45 days, and were beaten with telephone cables, batons and shovel handles during interrogations.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> In several instances, ABiH forces killed HVO troops after their surrender.<ref name="ehak"/>
-===The Remaining Offensives===
+===Grabovica and Uzdol Killings (September 1993)===
 [[Bosnian Army]] launched an operation known as ''Neretva 93'' against the [[Croatian Defence Council]] and [[Croatian Army]] in September 1993 in order to end the siege of [[Mostar]] and to recapture areas of Herzegovina, which were included in self-proclaimed [[Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia]]. The operation was stopped by Bosnian authorities after it received the information about the massacre on Croat civilians in the village of [[Grabovica]].
+During the night on September 8th or 9th, at 33 Croat villagers in Grabovica were killed by members of the 9th Brigade and unidentified members of the Bosnian Army.<ref name="sd">{{cite web|url=http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/kill-all-croats-in-the-village.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=8967|title=Kill All Croats in the Village|}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20070809/bih01.asp|title=Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora| }}</ref> Three combatants, Nihad Vlahovljak, Haris Rajkić and Sead Karagić were convicted for taking part in the killings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20070809/bih01.asp|title=Trojici za Grabovicu 39 godina zatvora| }}</ref> A few days later on the 14th, in the village of [[Uzdol]], it was reported that 29 Croat civilians and one prisoner of war were killed by the Prozor Independent Battalion and members of the local police force.<ref name="ictygu">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/sid/8517|title=Judgement in the Case the Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic|}}</ref>
-The village of Grabovica had been under Bosnian Army control since May 1993 and the relationship between the residents of Grabovica and the Bosnian Army soldiers who were stationed there was good. With the arrival of the unit of the 9th Brigade the atmosphere in the village changed and acts of violence started occurring. Throughout the night of the 8th of September at least 13 inhabitants had been murdered by members of the 9th Brigade. <ref>ICTY - Sefer Halilović judgment - Findings on the crimes charged Paragraph 3 and 4 - [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/halilovic/cis/en/cis_halilovic.pdf]</ref><ref>ICTY - Sefer Halilović judgment - Findings on the crimes charged Paragraph 3 and 4 - [http://www.icty.org/x/cases/halilovic/cis/en/cis_halilovic.pdf]</ref>
 ==Aftermath==
 The Croat-Bosniak war officially ended on February 23, 1994 when the Commander of HVO, general Ante Roso and commander of Bosnian Army, general Rasim Delić, signed a ceasefire agreement in [[Zagreb]]. In March 1994 a peace agreement mediated by the [[USA]] between the warring Croats (represented by [[Republic of Croatia]]) and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] was signed in Washington and Vienna. It is known as the [[Washington Agreement]]. Under this agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons, establishing the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. At the start of the war, the HVO had controlled more than 20 percent of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; just before the signing of the Washington agreement, however, it was less than 10 percent.<ref name=magas>{{cite book |last1=Magaš |first1=Branka |last2=Žanić |first2=Ivo  |title=The War in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1991-1995 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |date=2001 |page=66 |chapter= |isbn=}}</ref>
 The Croat leadership ([[Jadranko Prlić]], [[Bruno Stojić]], [[Slobodan Praljak]], [[Milivoj Petković]], [[Valentin Ćorić]] and [[Berislav Pušić]]) is presently on trial at the [[ICTY]] on charges including [[crimes against humanity]], grave breaches of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws and customs of war. [[Dario Kordić]], political leader of Croats in Central Bosnia was convicted of the [[crimes against humanity]] in Central Bosnia i.e. [[ethnic cleansing]] and sentenced to 25 years in prison.<ref name="ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict"/>
-In 1993, the Mujahideen were accused of massacres and war crimes against the Croat population in central Bosnia, including the villages of  [[Miletici]] (April 24), [[Maljine]] (June 8), [[Doljani]] (27-28 June), [[Bistrica]] (August), [[Kriz]] and [[Uzdol]] (14 September), and [[Kopijari]] (21 October), with an estimated number of at least 120 killed.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> In many cases, cruel mutilations were found on the corpses, said to be the work of the Mujahideen.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On September 16, 1993 the Bosnian Army condemned of the killings carried out in Kriz and Uzdol and promised to persecute those responsible.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On October 15, 1993, the [[United Nations Special Rapporteur]] wrote to Izetbegović, lauding the effort and requested that the other killings be also investigated.<ref name="UNHCHR"/>  He also requested to know what procedures existed to subordinate irregular troops to the Bosnian Army's command structure and what actions were used to enforce discipline.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On October 22, 1993, Izetbegović responded and in his letter condemned the killings and assured that an invstigation had begun.<ref name="UNHCHR"/>
 Bosnian commander [[Sefer Halilović]] was charged with one count of violation of the laws and customs of war on the basis of superior criminal responsibility of the incidents during [[Operation Neretva '93]] and found not guilty.<ref>[http://www.icty.org/x/cases/halilovic/acjug/en/071016.pdf Sefer Halilović - Judgement]</ref> [[Enver Hadzihasanovic]] and [[Amir Kubura]], both high level commanders in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) were convicted and sentenced to five years and two and a half years imprisonment respectively.<ref>[http://www.icty.org/sid/8786 Tribunal Convicts Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura]</ref>
+In 1993, the Mujahideen were accused of massacres and war crimes against the Croat population in central Bosnia, including the villages of  [[Miletici]] (April 24), [[Maljine]] (June 8), [[Doljani]] (27-28 June), [[Bistrica]] (August), [[Kriz]] and [[Uzdol]] (14 September), and [[Kopijari]] (21 October), with an estimated number of at least 120 killed.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> In many cases, cruel mutilations were found on the corpses, said to be the work of the Mujahideen.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On September 16, 1993 the Bosnian Army condemned of the killings carried out in Kriz and Uzdol and promised to persecute those responsible.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On October 15, 1993, the [[United Nations Special Rapporteur]] wrote to Izetbegović, lauding the effort and requested that the other killings be also investigated.<ref name="UNHCHR"/>  He also requested to know what procedures existed to subordinate irregular troops to the Bosnian Army's command structure and what actions were used to enforce discipline.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> On October 22, 1993, Izetbegović responded and in his letter condemned the killings and assured that an invstigation had begun.<ref name="UNHCHR"/>
 Croatia's president [[Ivo Josipović]] made an official visit to Bosnia in April 2010 during which he expressed a "deep regret" for [[Republic of Croatia|Croatia]]'s contribution "to the deaths of people and divisions" that still exists in the Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/General_News/2010-04-15/10325/Josipovic_apologizes_for_Croatia%B4s_role_in_war_in_Bosnia | work = [[Croatian Times]] | title = Josipovic apologizes for Croatia´s role in war in Bosnia | date = April 15, 2010 | accessdate = | April 16, 2010}}</ref>