Višegrad massacres

Overview

The Višegrad massacres refer to a series of mass killings carried out against the Bosniak civilian population of the town and municipality of Višegrad, in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the spring and summer of 1992, at the outset of the Bosnian War. The killings were committed by Republika Srpska police, military forces (the Army of Republika Srpska), and associated paramilitary groups, including groups referred to as the "White Eagles" and "Avengers." The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) described Višegrad as having been subjected to "one of the most comprehensive and ruthless campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian conflict." According to ICTY documents based on victims' reports, approximately 3,000 Bosniaks were killed in Višegrad and its surroundings, including roughly 600 women and 119 children. The Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo recorded 1,661 Bosniaks — both soldiers and civilians — killed or missing in Višegrad.

Course of events

Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) forces occupied Višegrad on 6 April 1992 following several days of fighting, and a Serbian Municipality of Višegrad was established. After the JNA officially withdrew on 19 May 1992, local Serb forces, police, and paramilitaries began a campaign to permanently remove the town's Bosniak population. Non-Serbs lost their jobs, and killings escalated. Civilians were shot on and thrown from the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge and a newer bridge into the Drina river on a daily basis. Documented incidents include the killing of seven men at the Varda factory on 10 June 1992; a mass killing of 22 people on 18 June 1992; the Pionirska Street fire on 14 June 1992, in which around 70 people were locked in a house that was set ablaze, killing 59; the Bikavac fire on 27 June 1992, in which at least 60 people were burned alive; the Paklenik massacre of around 50 men on 14–15 June 1992; the Bosanska Jagodina massacre of 17 men on 26 May 1992; and the Barimo massacre of 26 civilians in August 1992. Detention and rape occurred at sites including the Uzamnica barracks and the Vilina Vlas hotel. Both mosques in the town were destroyed.

In 2010, lowered water levels at the Perućac reservoir, behind the Bajina Bašta dam, allowed recovery of hundreds of victims' remains from the Drina; officials associated with the Bosnian Institute for Missing Persons described the lake as potentially containing over 2,000 bodies.

Accountability

The ICTY indicted Milan Lukić, Sredoje Lukić, and Mitar Vasiljević in 1996 for persecution as a crime against humanity and extermination. Milan Lukić was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment; Sredoje Lukić received 30 years, reduced to 27 on appeal; Mitar Vasiljević received 20 years, reduced to 15 on appeal. Other individuals were convicted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Boban Šimšić, Željko Lelek, Momir Savić, Nenad Tanasković, Novo Rajak, Dragutin Dragićević, and Đorđe Šević, with varying sentences. Oliver Krsmanović has been charged but remains a fugitive.