SREBRENICA VICTIMS: CIVILIANS VS. MILITARY

Updated: 1:30 PM (better clarification)

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF SREBRENICA VICTIMS WERE CIVILIANS

PHOTO: A mass grave at Nova Kasaba, taken during initial probe of site, showing body with hands tied behind back.

Krstic Judgement

Many genocide deniers question how many armed soldiers belonging to the 28th Division under the command of Naser Oric joined the retreating column of 15,000 men attemping a breakthrough from Srebrenica toward a free territory? This is something that can also puzzle individuals without a genocide denial agenda. Here is the answer from the judgement of Radislav Krstic:

"61. ...Witnesses estimated that there were between 10,000 and 15,000 men in the retreating column. Around one third of the men in the column were Bosnian Muslim soldiers from the 28th Division, although not all of the soldiers were armed."

In the reference to the above paragraph we find that "only 1,000 had weapons."

Blagojevic Judgement

"220. The Bosnian Muslim group consisted predominantly of boys and men who were between the ages of 16 and 65, although a small number of women, children and elderly people were also present. While at least some of the men were armed and wearing uniforms, the majority of the men were civilians."

In the reference to the above paragraph we find that "some carried rifles and pistols, while others carried hand grenades which, according to a witness, were for the purpose of taking their own life if they were captured... Kemal Mehmedovic estimated that about 200-300 people carried infrantry weapons. [He] testified that very few people had military weapons, the other armed men had their own private and very often old weapons. The testimony concerning the location of any armed men within the column varies. Enver Husic testified that around 50 men with rifles, who were members of the Mountain Battalion of the Bosnian Muslim army, were positioned at the rear of the column in order to protect it. However, other witnesses said that the armed men were at the front of the column. There is also evidence indicating that men with weapons and men without weapons were intemingled."

New Evidence

New evidence in the trial of Radovan Karadzic, however, suggests that the column of up to 15,000 Bosniak men was defended with only about 400 rifles. An overwhelming majority of victims were unarmed civilians. The protected witness who survived the savage massacre by playing dead beneath the bodies of men gunned down around him testified that there were only about 400 rifles in the column of about 15,000 men moving towards Tuzla through the woods. ‘Those who had arms were those who got through, those who didn’t now lie in mass graves and body bags’, the witness added.

Women and Children

Many apologists also question how could Serbs commit genocide by killing mostly men and elderly, while at the same time deciding to forcibly expel most women and children from the U.N. 'protected' Srebrenica enclave? This is also something that can puzzle individuals without an apologist agenda. Here is a detailed answer to this question directly from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Appeals Chamber, Prosecutor vs. Radislav Krstic):

"31. As the Trial Chamber explained, forcible transfer could be an additional means by which to ensure the physical destruction of the Bosnian Muslim community in Srebrenica. The transfer completed the removal of all Bosnian Muslims from Srebrenica, thereby eliminating even the residual possibility that the Muslim community in the area could reconstitute itself. The decision not to kill the women or children may be explained by the Bosnian Serbs’ sensitivity to public opinion. In contrast to the killing of the captured military men, such an action could not easily be kept secret, or disguised as a military operation, and so carried an increased risk of attracting international censure.

32. In determining that genocide occurred at Srebrenica, the cardinal question is whether the intent to commit genocide existed. While this intent must be supported by the factual matrix, the offence of genocide does not require proof that the perpetrator chose the most efficient method to accomplish his objective of destroying the targeted part. Even where the method selected will not implement the perpetrator’s intent to the fullest, leaving that destruction incomplete, this ineffectiveness alone does not preclude a finding of genocidal intent. The international attention focused on Srebrenica, combined with the presence of the UN troops in the area, prevented those members of the VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] Main Staff who devised the genocidal plan from putting it into action in the most direct and efficient way. Constrained by the circumstances, they adopted the method which would allow them to implement the genocidal design while minimizing the risk of retribution. "

PHOTO: Body of Srebrenica genocide victim recovered from exhumation site clearly shows blindfold and cloth ligature tying arms behind the back. ↓