26 Years Ago, the World Public Learned About the Trnopolje Concentration Camp

On this day 24 years ago, the world public learned about the Trnopolje concentration camp when ITN television broadcast footage of emaciated prisoners behind barbed wire. Through the Trnopolje camp passed 25,000 residents of Prijedor, mostly Bosniaks and Croats, who were captured by Serbian forces from May to December 1992, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The prisoners endured torture, killings, and rapes. To this day, searches continue for some who were taken from Trnopolje and never seen again.

The so-called crisis staff of the Prijedor municipality established the Trnopolje camp on May 26, 1992. The camp was guarded by armed guards and managed by Slobodan Kuruzović. When international journalists visited the camp, prisoners did not dare speak freely about conditions as they were accompanied by guards. Many Red Cross packages intended for prisoners ended up in the hands of Serbian soldiers.

Within the camp, a children's camp was even formed, through which many young residents of Prijedor passed, including babies, some of whom were born there. The Hague Tribunal established that this was also a camp where women and girls were raped. On August 21, 1992, about 200 prisoners were taken from the camp and liquidated at Korićanske Stijene on Mount Vlašić.