Deportation of Srebrenica Refugees
“I need the truth about everything that happened in Srebrenica.”
Following the outbreak of the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Podrinje region became of strategic importance to the Bosnian Serbs due to its proximity to the Serbian border and the connection between Krajina and southern parts of Herzegovina. Consequently, since mid-1992, the political leadership of Republika Srpska, together with the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), issued several orders, with the primary goal being the unification of Eastern Bosnia with Serbia, i.e., “eliminating the River Drina as a border.” This objective entailed the expulsion of Bosniaks from the area.
The gathering of VRS forces in Eastern Bosnia forced a large number of Bosniaks from surrounding areas to seek refuge in Srebrenica. Due to a lack of water and food, along with the influx of refugees, living conditions in Srebrenica became unbearable. The inhumane conditions in the enclaves led the United Nations Security Council, in the spring of 1993, to declare Srebrenica, Žepa, and Goražde as “safe areas”. Nevertheless, in early March 1995, Radovan Karadžić issued Directive 7 which set out the objectives of the VRS. One of the objectives was to completely separate Srebrenica from Žepa, and “by planned and well-thought-out combat operations create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope for the further survival or life for the inhabitants in Srebrenica and Žepa”.
“Elimination of the Enclave”
In early June 1995, the VRS and the Army of BiH engaged in fighting around Srebrenica, after which the VRS began shelling the enclave. The VRS launched Operation Krivaja 95 with the goal of “eliminating the enclave.” The operation began at dawn on July 6, and Srebrenica was captured five days later with Ratko Mladić’s triumphant entry on 11 July 1995.
The entry of Ratko Mladić into Srebrenica was recorded by both foreign and domestic media, which, after 11 July 1995, began reporting intensively to the Serbian public about events in Srebrenica.
Due to fear of the VRS’s arrival, about 30,000 Bosniaks, mainly women, children, and the elderly, sought refuge at the UNPROFOR base in Potočari, while around 15,000 men tried to escape through the woods toward territory controlled by the Army of BiH.
During 12 and 13 July 1995, the VRS loaded women, children, and the elderly onto buses. Men deemed militarily capable, including boys aged 12 to 15, were separated. The buses transported them to territory under the control of the Army of BiH. Simultaneously, the VRS captured a large number of men attempting to leave the enclave through the woods to reach Tuzla, i.e., territory controlled by the Army of BiH.
Within three days, from 13 to 16 July 1995, VRS members killed more than 7,000 Bosniaks in mass shootings. These Bosniaks had either been captured from the column attempting to reach Tuzla or separated from others at the UNPROFOR base. Mass executions took place at the warehouse in Kravica, in Orahovac, near the Petkovci dam, in Kozluk, at the Branjevo military farm, and in the Pilica Cultural Center.
Attempt to Escape
Some men who managed to avoid capture or survived shootings tried to find refuge by crossing the Drina River into Serbia. Instead of safety, most of them met the same fate as their compatriots. Rather than offering protection and shelter, Serbian authorities handed them over to the VRS, who subsequently killed them. Of all those who tried to escape and were then handed back to the Republika Srpska’s military and police, only six survived.
The method of handover was mostly the same: after crossing into Serbia, Srebrenica men were detained by Serbian police from Bajina Bašta and Ljubovija, responsible for border control. The Serbian police would return them to Republika Srpska through the Bratunac’s border police, who, usually within hours, handed them over to the VRS. Most of these men were killed thereafter. Only the aforementioned six Bosniaks survived, having been taken to the Batković camp.
Representing the Bajina Bašta border police, Risto Šeovac handed over Bosniaks, while Zoran Sević was responsible on behalf of the police in Ljubovija. Both Šeovac and Sević handed Srebrenica men over mostly to Vidoje Radović from the Bratunac police, who, like them, was responsible for border control within the Republika Srpska police.
Deportation to Death
On 15 July 1995,Rešid Sinanović survived a mass shooting in Kozluk on the banks of the Drina River. Although seriously wounded, he managed to swim across the Drina and enter Serbia. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred from the local health center in Banja Koviljača to a hospital in Loznica. A doctor recognized him and reported to the Zvornik police that Sinanović was in Serbia. She recognized him because he had been the head of police in Bratunac. Soon, Serbian police arrived at the hospital, detained him, and handed him over to the Zvornik police. Sinanović was killed in Zvornik on the bridge between BiH and Serbia, and his body was found in a mass grave at Čančarski Put.
Ahmet Tepić and Edin Džanić experienced a similar fate when they attempted to escape from Srebrenica to Serbian territory on 20 July 1995. Border control police from Ljubovija arrested them and handed them over to the Bratunac police, creating an official report in the process. The Bratunac police then transferred them to the VRS’s 10th Sabotage Detachment, which executed them on 23 July, along with a group of 54 Bosniak men. The remains of Tepić and Džanić were found in 2007 in a mass grave in Bišina.
On 21 July 1995, border police in Bajina Bašta captured four Srebrenica men – Smajil Mehmedović, Ramiz Muminović, and brothers Bekir and Ibrahim Kandžetović – as they attempted to escape from the mass shootings in Srebrenica. An official report was drawn up, and they were handed over to the Bratunac police, who then passed them on to the Military Police in Skelani, along with a report and official note. All four men were shot in the back of the head near a mass grave in Glogova, where their remains were identified in 2016.
On 23 July 1995, border police in Bajina Bašta arrested eight Bosniak men – brothers Hariz, Hazim, and Fehidin Ibrahimović, Abdurahman, Hamdija, and Hamzo Malkić, Sadik Salihović, and Hamdija Delić. After their arrest, they were taken to the police station in Bajina Bašta, where Salihović and Delić attempted to commit suicide. That same day, the wounded Salihović and Delić were handed over to the members of Public Security Station Skelani, who killed them. They are still listed as missing persons. The remaining six men were handed over by the Serbian police to the Military Police in Bratunac. They were taken to the Batković camp; from where they were released in December 1995. This group of men was the only one to survive deportation from Serbia.
On 24 July 1995, six men – Fahrudin Avdić, Mefail Rahmić, Meho Mulalić, Ferid Halilović, Muharem Husić, and Nedžib Rahmić – were captured by police officers in Bajina Bašta. After being detained, they were returned to Republika Srpska through the Bratunac police, who immediately handed them over to the VRS. This group of Bosniaks was shot in the back of the head near the Glogova mass grave, where their remains were discovered in 2000.
In Ljubovija, Serbian police officers arrested Sadik Isaković and Naser and Emir Duraković on 26 July 1995. They were immediately transferred to the Bratunac police, who handed them over to the VRS a few hours later. They were shot near the Glogova mass grave, where the remains of Naser and Emir Duraković were found in 2006, while Sadik Isaković is still registered as a missing person.
On 29 July 1995, police in Ljubovija arrested Hajrudin Bečić, Muhidin Siručić, and Šefik Efendić. They were immediately handed over to the Bratunac police, who then transferred them to the VRS. Bečić, Siručić, and Efendić are still registered as missing persons.
Hajro Ahmetović was arrested by police in Ljubovija on 30 July 1995. As in previous cases, Ahmetović was handed over to the Bratunac police, who transferred him to the VRS. Ahmetović is still listed as a missing person.
Azem Avdić was arrested by Bajina Bašta police on 31 July 1995. On the same day, he was handed over to the Bratunac police, who subsequently transferred him to the VRS. Avdić remains listed as a missing person.
Ibro Krlić was arrested by police officers from Ljubovija on 1 August 1995. He was immediately handed over to the Bratunac police with an official report, who then transferred him to the VRS. Krlić is still registered as a missing person.
Selection of Documents
A Crime Without Punishment
Out of 30 men deported from Serbia, where they had sought sanctuary, 12 were ultimately discovered in the Glogova mass grave, a burial site for victims of the Srebrenica genocide. All 12 men deported from Serbia were buried in the L grave. The act of deporting refugees to territories where their lives were at risk constitutes a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees as well as a breach of international law. The UN Refugee Convention explicitly prohibits the forced expulsion or return of refugees “to the borders of territories where their life or freedom would be threatened due to their race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion.”
Some Srebrenica survivors inflicted self-harm after their arrest by Serbian police, highlighting the immense fear they felt at the prospect of being handed over to VRS units – a fact known to Serbian authorities. Furthermore, the deportation of fleeing men to those committing crimes in Srebrenica could be seen as an act of complicity, marking it as a punishable form of responsibility under international law.
Publicly accessible evidence in the database of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) demonstrates that Serbian authorities knew that the men who fled from Srebrenica to Serbia would be killed upon their return to VRS forces and were aware of the systematic killings of Bosniaks in Srebrenica. Numerous media outlets and human rights organizations reported on these events, and the UN Security Council issued several resolutions expressing concern over crimes against Bosniaks and informed the leadership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of these crimes.
Moreover, on 24 July 1995, the ICTY issued a joint indictment against Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed against civilians across BiH.
A day after the fifth group of refugees was deported, on 24 July 1995, a meeting was held between Perišić and Milošević with Mladić, during which Milošević lamented, “Srebrenica and Žepa have caused us immense damage.”
Selection of Documents
No one in Serbia has faced judicial consequences for the unlawful deportation and subsequent killing of men from Srebrenica. In 2017, the Humanitarian Law Center filed a criminal complaint with the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office (TRZ) regarding these atrocities. However, the TRZ dismissed the complaint, stating that the individuals reported did not have genocidal intent to commit these acts, nor did the events meet the criteria of any other criminal offense under the TRZ’s jurisdiction.