CRIME IN AHMIĆI HVO units killed 116 civilians, women, children, elderly, mined two mosques

(Patria) - A commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the HVO crime against the Bosniak population of Ahmići, Donja Večeriska and other places in the municipality of Vitez will be held today in Ahmići.
At 9:30 AM, a recitation of Jasin-i-šerif is planned at the Martyrs' Cemetery in Vitez.

At 10 AM, participants of the "PATH OF TRUTH AND REMEMBRANCE" march will depart from Vitez to Ahmići, and from 7 AM, participants of the march will cover the distance from Zenica to Ahmići.

A commemoration will be held in the Multimedia Hall in Ahmići at 10:45 AM, while laying flowers and paying tribute to the victims of the crime at the memorial and Martyrs' memorial in Ahmići is planned from 12 PM.

On that April 16, 1993, one of the cruelest war crimes in the territory of former Yugoslavia was committed.

In the early morning hours of April 16, 1993, local units of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) attacked Bosniak civilians in Ahmići.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague states that 116 people were killed in Ahmići, 24 were wounded, 169 houses were destroyed, and two mosques.

The ICTY ruled that these crimes were crimes against humanity, and one of the perpetrators of this action, Dario Kordić, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The crime was discovered by UN peacekeeping forces composed of the British army, and Colonel Bob Stewart.

On Friday, April 16, at 5:30 AM, the HVO simultaneously attacked the settlements of Vitez, Stari Vitez, Ahmići, Nadioci, Šantići, Pirići, Novaci, Putiš, and Donja Večeriska.

Croatian residents of these villages were warned of the attack in a timely manner, and some even participated in it.

Croatian women and children were evacuated the day before the fighting. That morning, HVO vehicles blocked the main roads, and the attack began from three sides to direct fleeing residents towards the south, where soldiers were waiting and shooting at them.

Small groups of about five to ten soldiers went from house to house, setting them on fire and killing or driving out the residents.

In Ahmići, 116 people were killed, of whom 32 were women and 11 were children under 18 years of age. Two local mosques were destroyed by explosives.

According to data from the Center for Human Rights in Zenica, out of 200 Bosniak houses, 180 were burned.

The perpetrators were members of the following units: Anti-Terrorist Battalion of the HVO Military Police "Jokeri", Viteška Brigade of the HVO, PPN Vitezovi, and the "Nikola Šubić Zrinski" Brigade.

Convicted for this crime were: Dario Kordić (25 years), Zoran, Mirjan, and Vlatko Kupreškić were sentenced to prison terms of 6 to 10 years for participating in the attack, but were acquitted by a final verdict in 2001.

Drago Josipović received 12 years and Vladimir Šantić 18 years in prison. Dragan Papić was acquitted.