SREBRENICA, ZEPA: 60 CHILDREN, 42 ADULTS DIED FROM STARVATION AND COLD IN JANUARY OF 1993

More than two years before the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) civilians in trapped in the besieged enclave of Srebrenica and Zepa had been dying from starvation and cold.

Srebrenica, Zepa: 60 Children, 42 Adults Die from Starvation and Cold

"As for the Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, ‘he will lie, keep lying as he has done all the time, and he will kill more of us in the coming days” – Nedjara Beganovic.

Serb blockade claims lives of more children
The Victoria Advocate, p.4C
13 January 1993.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Fifty-one children died of starvation and cold overnight in an eastern Bosnian town [Zepa] blockaded by Serbs and isolated for nine months, according to ham radio reports Wednesday. In addition, 34 adults perished Tuesday night in Zepa, 35 miles east of Sarajevo.

In Srebrenica, a town near the Serbia border, 17 people – including nine children – died during the night, according to the reports.

Amateur radio operators have been the only link to the outside for the 28,000 people of Zepa since April. Serb gunmen and mines prevent U.N. convoys from crossing snowy roads to the town, where some people are living in caves.

There was little fighting Wednesday in the Bosnian capital, but residents were gloomy about Geneva peace talks that on Tuesday resulted in a preliminary agreement to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina into 10 provinces.

Early Thursday, the 12-nation European Community gave Bosnian Serbs six days to approve the plan unconditionally or face total international isolation.

“Because time is running out, we will not tolerate any delaying tactics. We have seen that on too many occasions,” said Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen of Denmark, whose nation holds the EC’s rotating presidency.

Bosnian critics accused the United Nations of allowing itself to be hoodwinked by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who was pushing the agreement.

Sarajevans believe the agreement will allow the Serbs, now holding 70 percent of Bosnia’s territory, to keep their gains.

At least 17,000 people have been killed in fighting in Bosnia since the Serbs rebelled after Feb.29 vote for independence from Yugoslavia by Bosniaks and Croats, who together form a majority.

Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic told state TV that the Serb agreement in Geneva was “just a game.”

Peace negotiators in Geneva “let Milosevic say he is a man of peace, they smile and shake hands with him, and he is personally responsible for so many deaths on both sides,” said Gordana Knezevic [Serb], a journalist at the daily Oslobodjenje.

As for the Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, “he will lie, keep lying as he has done all the time, and he will kill more of us in the coming days,” said Nedjara Beganovic [Bosniak], a bank employee.