7th Muslim Brigade

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7th Muslim Brigade (Bosnian: Sedma muslimanska brigada) was a brigade in Bosnian Army often misinterpreted by Serb and Croat media which confused it with the squad of Arab volunteers know as El-Mudžahid - foreign Arab and other fighters from various Islamic countries that fought during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. The 7th brigade had over 1000 local soldiers and was a part of the 3rd corps of the Bosnian Army. The El-Mudžahid was an independent squad.

During the Yugoslav wars, Bosnian side received humanitarian aid from Islamic countries as well as from the West, because of intensive and widespread killing, mass rapes, death camps, ethnic cleansing committed by Serb, but also Croat forces. The main target were Bosnian Muslim civilians. The world's highest court concluded that these crimes, committed during the 1992 -1995 war, are "acts of genocide" and crimes against humanity according to the Convention.^[1] After massacres committed by Serb and Croat forces,^[2] a squad of foreign Arab volunteers (around 500 man) came across Croatia in Bosnia to help Bosnian Army to protect Bosnian Muslim civilian population, because UN imposed weapons embargo to all sides in the conflict at the beginning of the war despite the fact that just Bosnian government security forces were poorly-equipped unlike Serb and Croat forces.

Although there are so many controversies produces by Serb and Croat media about alleged war crimes committed by the squad, no indictment was issued by ICTY against any of these foreign volunteers. The only foreign person convicted of war crimes was neo-nazi Jackie Arklov that fought in Croatian army.

After the war Arabs attained Bosnian citizenship, and are now living in several villages throughout Bosnia, where life is organized according to Sharia law.^[3] It is known that those who remained are concentrated around the cities of Zenica, Maglaj and Bočinja and in villages near Brčko.^[4]

On the other hand, brigadier Amir Kubura, the brigade commander of 7th Muslim Brigade, was found guilty of failure to prevent or punish the plunder of property in the villages of Šusanj, Ovnak, Brajkovići and Grahovčići in June 1993 and in Vareš in November of the same year. He received 2.5 year sentence.^[5]