ATTACK ON JOŠANICA AND HAMLETS WITH GOAL OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF SERBS; ORDER - KILL THEM ALL

"Before the action began, everyone was addressed by the commander of the First Drina Brigade, who emphasized that the action was well planned, that he hoped for success, and then he ordered that no Serb population, whether military or civilian, of any age, should be left alive, that everyone should be killed... Around 300 soldiers were engaged in the action on Jošanica, and the killings were carried out by mass shootings and burning houses..."

By: Tatjana Parađina

FOČA, JULY 29 /SRNA/ - The book "It Is Unfortunate to Kill Birds" by Mehmed Bradarić, who spent the war on the Goražde battlefield as a journalist-reporter, describes in detail the plan and the actual execution of the massacre in Jošanica, on St. Nicholas' Day, December 19, 1992.

The book focuses on the attack on Ustikolina, which encompassed a wider area. According to the book, some of the units that launched the attack on the Serb people were tasked with penetrating all the way to the hospital in Foča. Jošanica was attacked in that action, and members of the so-called Army of BiH committed crimes against the Serb civilian population there.

LARGE RESPONSE OF MUSLIM VOLUNTEERS FOR KILLING SERBS

The book states the action plan: "... Although humanitarian aid is being distributed in the city, no one is talking about it. Everyone is preoccupied with the planned offensive on Ustikolina. These offensive operations were supposed to begin on December 3, but the action was postponed in order to arrange cooperation and assistance from units from Igman.

Only volunteers are participating in the offensive. The response is surprisingly large. 1,000 more fighters than needed have signed up. That is why those who went without weapons were returned... The 31st Drina is supposed to break through to Brusna, attack the Chetniks /meaning the Serb people/ and prevent them from helping the Chetniks in Ustikolina.

The second group is tasked with preventing Chetnik operations from the Gornja Jošanica area. From Grepko, artillery support and an infantry attack on Previla and Presjeka are planned. The ultimate goal is to connect the units from Grepko with the units from Goražde on the hills above Ustikolina.

The fifth group has the most difficult task - to go along the Drina, pass into the Džebina Forest, as he says, behind the Chetniks' backs, attack them and take fortified bunkers and trenches along that entire line... First, about sixty fighters need to cross the Drina, whose task is to penetrate Pilipovići, attack the Chetnik positions at that location and prevent them from using the howitzers and mortars located there...

Several sabotage groups should penetrate deep into the enemy's rear and cause them to panic. From Grepko, Miljevina should even be targeted, so that the Chetniks do not understand where the main blow is and cannot come to each other's aid. One sabotage group will go all the way to Brioni, shoot and hold the Chetniks at Dragočava. Another sabotage group will go to Slatina, bring out a lancer on horseback and target Brusna from there.

The third group of saboteurs was to break through to the Foča hospital and prevent any possible help from the city's Chetniks to those from Ustikolina. One group of saboteurs was to break through to Dub and from there create panic in the Chetnik rear.

The goal of the offensive is to create in the aggressor the impression of a terrible attack on the Ustikolina area on the right bank of the Drina, and to attack, take and try to hold the left bank."

GOAL OF THE ATTACK - COMPLETE DESTRUCTION AND EXPULSION OF THE SERB POPULATION; ORDER TO MUSLIMS: DRINK ALL THE BRANDY TO BE BRAVER!?

That the aim of the attack was the complete destruction and expulsion of the Serbian population from Ustikolina is confirmed by the following sentence from the quoted book: "And we will not stop, because we cannot and must not. We will not stop until we expel the spirit of sick, exaggerated Chetnik Serbification from our tame and proud mountains."

Šaban Kurtović, also one of the participants in the attack on Jošanica, speaks about the preparations for the attack and its execution:

"According to the commander's order, on December 18, 1992, we gathered in Sadba in front of the school. On the said day, about 250 people gathered in Sadba, who were divided into five groups... There we were given brandy and drank it along the way. My group headed towards Gradina and Gabelska Kosa, Bavčići, Ivljak and Kapak. Having arrived at Kapak, we gathered there, then we descended past Crnetići to the village of Ho̷džići, which we were tasked with attacking. We arrived in that village before dawn, around 5:00 a.m. According to the order, we were not allowed to open fire until dawn.

I would like to mention that we had orders to drink all the brandy so that we would be braver and be able to do everything we were ordered to do. We waited for dawn and at 7:00 a.m. opened fire. During the attack in the village itself, two Serbs were killed... Our task was to break into houses and buy food and, if we found anyone, to kill them."

Clear motives for the Muslim attack on Jošanica can also be seen in the statement of Ibro Mehović:

"Before the action began, the commander of the 1st Drina Brigade addressed everyone, emphasizing that the action was well planned, that there was hope for success, and then he ordered that no one from the Serbian population, whether military or civilian, of any age, should be left alive, that everyone should be killed. ... There were about 300 soldiers in the action on Jošanica, and the killings were carried out by mass shootings from firearms and burning houses." /to be continued/