Siege of Mostar

Siege of Mostar
Part of the Bosnian War

Destroyed buildings in Mostar after the Bosnian War.
DateApril 1992 – June 1992
June 1993 – April 1994
LocationMostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Result HVO victory (1992)
Military stalemate (1994)
Belligerents
1992:
 Herzeg-Bosnia
 Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina		 1992:
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav People's Army
 Republika Srpska
1993-1994:
 Herzeg-Bosnia		 1993-1994:
Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina		 1993-1994:
 Republika Srpska
Commanders and leaders
Milivoj Petković
Slobodan Praljak
Miljenko Lasić		 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefer Halilović
Bosnia and Herzegovina Rasim Delić
Bosnia and Herzegovina Arif Pašalić		 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Momčilo Perišić
Republika Srpska Radovan Grubač
Casualties and losses
Unknown 539-1,023 civilians and soldiers killed (1993-1994)[1] Unknown
c. 90,000 refugees (1992)

The Siege of Mostar was fought between 1992 and 1994. Initially lasting between April 1992 and June 1992, it involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the 4th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) fighting against the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. It ended in June 1992 after the success of Operation Jackal by the Croatian Army (HV) and HVO. As a result of the first siege around 90,000 residents of Mostar fled and numerous religious buildings, cultural institutions, and bridges were damaged or destroyed. As the conflict matured and as the political landscape changed, the Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) began to fight against each other, culminating in an episode of the Bosnian War known as the Croat–Bosniak Conflict. Between June 1993 and April 1994 the HVO besieged Bosniak-concentrated East Mostar, resulting in the deaths of numerous civilians, a cut off of humanitarian aid, damage or destruction of ten mosques, and the blowing up of the historic Stari Most bridge. Hostilities ended with the signing of the Washington Agreement in March 1994 and the establishment of the Croat–Bosniak Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Background

In 1990 and 1991, Serbs in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina had proclaimed a number of "Serbian Autonomous Regions" with the intent of later unifying them to create a Greater Serbia. Serbs used the well equipped Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in defending these territories.[2] As early as September or October 1990, the JNA had begun arming Bosnian Serbs and organizing them into militias. By March 1991, the JNA had distributed an estimated 51,900 firearms to Serb paramilitaries and 23,298 firearms to Serbian Democratic Party (SDS).[3] The Croatian government began arming Croats in the Herzegovina region in 1991 and in the start of 1992, expecting that the Serbs would spread the war into Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4] It also helped arm the Bosniak community. From July 1991 to January 1992, the JNA and Serb paramilitaries used Bosnian territory to wage attacks on Croatia.[5]

On 25 March 1991, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman met with Serbian president Slobodan Milošević in Karađorđevo, reportedly to discuss the partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[6][7] In November, the autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia (HZ-HB) was established, it claimed it had no secessionary goal and that it would serve a "legal basis for local self-administration". It vowed to respect the Bosnian government under the condition that Bosnia and Herzegovina was independent of "the former and every kind of future Yugoslavia."[8] In December, Tuđman, in a conversation with Bosnian Croat leaders, said that "from the perspective of sovereignty, Bosnia-Herzegovina has no prospects" and recommended that Croatian policy "support for the sovereignty [of Bosnia and Herzegovina] until such time as it no longer suits Croatia."[9]

After the JNA's participation in the Croatian War of Independence, JNA units were regarded as an occupation force by the Croats of Mostar. It was perceived as a force friendly to the Serbs and hostile to Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). On 4 February 1992, local Croat citizens blockaded the roads from Mostar to Čitluk and Široki Brijeg in protest over the behavior of JNA reservists in the area. On 6 February Serbs blockaded the road from Mostar to Sarajevo.[10] On 29 February and 1 March 1992 an independence referendum was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Independence was strongly favored by Bosniak and Bosnian Croat voters, while Bosnian Serbs largely boycotted the referendum. The majority of voters voted for independence and on 3 March 1992 president Alija Izetbegović declared independence from Yugoslavia, which was immediately recognised by Croatia.[11]

On 14 March there was gunfire in Mostar with the JNA barracks in the city. On the following day the citizens of Mostar set up barricades and demanded the withdrawal of the JNA forces. On 1 April there were clashes between the JNA and Croat forces in several surrounding villages and the southern suburb of Jasenica.[10] On 8 April, Bosnian Croats were organized into the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).[7] A sizable number of Bosniaks also joined.[4] On 15 April, the multi-ethnic Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) was formed, with slightly over two-thirds of troops consisting of Bosniaks and almost one-third of Croats and Serbs.[12]

Prelude

In April fighting started at several locations in Herzegovina. The JNA's 2nd Military District, commanded by Colonel General Milutin Kukanjac, deployed elements of the 5th Banja Luka Corps and the 9th Knin Corps to the Kupres region, capturing the town from the Croatian Army (HV) and the HVO jointly defending the area in the 1992 Battle of Kupres on 7 April and threatening Livno and Tomislavgrad to the southwest. The 4th Military District of the JNA, commanded by General Pavle Strugar, employed the 13th Bileća Corps and the 2nd Titograd Corps to capture Stolac and most of the eastern bank of the Neretva River south of Mostar. The town of Široki Brijeg came under attack by the Yugoslav Air Force on 7 and 8 April.[10][13]

The 1992 Siege

Military map of Operation Jackal
Map of Operation Jackal which brought an end to the siege in 1992

JNA artillery attacks on Mostar suburbs started on 6 April and the city was from there on periodically shelled. Over the following week the JNA gradually established control over large portions of the city. On 9 April the JNA forces repelled an attack by the Croat forces, now as part of the HVO, on the Mostar military airfield. Bosnian Serb Territorial Defence Force captured two nearby hydroelectric power plants on the Neretva River on 11 April.[13] On 19 April 1992, General Momčilo Perišić, the commander of the 13th Bileća Corps in Mostar, ordered the artillery units to attack the neighbourhoods of Cim, Ilići, Donji Brijeg, Bijeli Brijeg and Donja Mahala.[14]

A ceasefire agreement was attempted on 7 May by the Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Serb leadership, but on the following day the JNA and Bosnian Serb forces, later renamed to Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), mounted an attack on Croat-held positions on the eastern river bank. Apart from a narrow band on the eastern bank of the Neretva, the Croats held Bijelo Polje to the northeast. The JNA held positions on the hills overlooking the city from the east, the Hum Mountain south of the city, several suburbs to the south and a portion of area to the north.[13]

The Croatian Army planned an offensive against the JNA and VRS codenamed Operation Jackal. The objective of the operation was to relieve Mostar and break the JNA encirclement of the besieged Dubrovnik. The preparations for the operation were done by HV general Janko Bobetko. Bobetko reorganized the HVO command structure. In late May the HVO forces began a series of attacks on the JNA and VRS positions around Mostar. On 23 May the HVO captured the Hum Mountain. Operation Jackal commenced on 7 June when HV/HVO force moved east and north from Čapljina towards Stolac and Mostar. In support of the main attack, the HVO attacked VRS positions on the west bank of the Neretva and on 11 June took the Orlovac Mountain and the villages of Varda, Čule and Kruševo to the southwest and Jasenica and Slipčići to the south. By the following day the HVO pushed all remaining VRS forces east of the Neretva River. On 13 June the Serb forces destroyed two bridges across the Neretva, leaving only the Stari Most bridge, which was, however, damaged.[13][15]

Meanwhile, the HV/HVO force rapidly advanced and reached the suburbs of Mostar on 14 June. By 15 June HVO consolidated its hold of Stolac and the 4th Battalion of the Mostar HVO captured JNA "Sjeverni logor" barracks in Mostar. In order to complete a link up with the advancing HV and HVO units that were advancing to the north through Buna and Blagaj, the Mostar HVO forces, supported by the HV's 4th Battalion of the 4th Guards Brigade, moved south from the city through Jasenica.[16] The two advancing forces met at the Mostar International Airport on 17 June. The HVO cleared the Bijelo Polje neighborhood in the northeast and advanced further east along the slopes of the Velež Mountain.[15] By 21 June the VRS was completely pushed out of Mostar. The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) supported the eastward push from the city only in a secondary role. HVO was at the time composed of both Croats and Bosniaks. Although the frontline was still close to Mostar, the high ground directly overlooking Mostar on the eastern bank of the Neretva was secured by the HV and HVO forces.[15]

Mostar was heavily damaged by JNA shelling during the siege. Amongst the destroyed or severely damaged buildings were the Catholic Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church, the Franciscan Church and Monastery, the Bishop's Palace (with a library collection of over 50,000 books), 12 out of 14 mosques, the historical museum, archives, and number of other cultural institutions. All of the city's bridges were destroyed, leaving only the Stari Most bridge as the remaining river crossing. In mid-June 1992, after the battle line moved eastward, the HVO demolished the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery, while the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Saborna Crkva) was burned by an unidentified group.[17] About 90,000 of Mostar's 120,000 residents fled.[18]

Croat-Bosniak War

Main article: Croat-Bosniak War
A war-ravaged street in Mostar during the conflict.

Prelude and 9 May attack

After the departure of JNA and VRS forces, tensions between Croats and Bosniaks increased. By mid-April 1993, Mostar had become a divided city with the western part dominated by HVO forces and the eastern part where the ARBiH was largely concentrated. The 4th Corps of the ARBiH was based in eastern Mostar and under the command of Arif Pašalić.[19][20] The HVO Southeast Herzegovina was under the command of Miljenko Lasić.[21] The Croat–Bosniak War has already been raging in central Bosnia, but the worst of it was in Mostar.[22] In April there were several deaths from sniper fire in Mostar. A truce was agreed by the two sides that didn't last long.[23]

Fighting started in the in the early hours of 9 May 1993. Both the east and west side of Mostar came under artillery fire. However, the evidence remains very divided with respect to how the attack of 9 May 1993 started.[24] On the eve of 9 May, both the HVO and the ARBiH were preparing for a potential attack.[25] Observers of the international community all stated that the HVO had started the attack on 9 May 1993.[26] The attack sparked outrage at the United Nations.[27] UNPROFOR Commander General Lars Eric Wahlgren called it "a major Croat attack".[23] Members of the ARBiH stated that the HVO launched an attack on the ARBiH.[28] According to the HVO, the ARBiH attacked the HVO-held Tihomir Mišić barracks, also known as Sjeverni logor (North Camp), on the morning of 9 May.[28] Nonetheless, there are no orders confirming that either the HVO or the ARBiH launched an attack on 9 May 1993.[25]

Escalation of the conflict

The front lines in northern and central Herzegovina in late 1993

The main combat locations on 9 May were the HVO-held Tihomir Mišić barracks and the ARBiH headquarters in western Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. The building was heavily shelled on 9 May and HVO seized it the next day. 10 Bosniak POWs from the building were later killed.[29] Fierce street battles were fought in the following days. On 13 May, HVO commander Milivoj Petković and ARBiH commander Sefer Halilović signed a ceasefire agreement. However, battles in the city continued. On 16 May the HVO seized a small strip of territory on the right bank of the Neretva. The situation calmed down on 21 May and the two sides remained deployed on the frontlines.[23]

By early June, the HVO controlled a considerable portion of Mostar. The HVO had five brigades, a Special Forces regiment, and around five military police battalions. These forces were also supported by those in the towns of southwest Herzegovina including Ljubuški, Čitluk, and Čapljina. In contrast the 4th Corps of ARBiH only had the 41st Mostar Brigade under direct Mostar command.[30]

On 30 June the ARBiH captured the Tihomir Mišić barracks on the east bank of the Neretva, a hydroelectric dam on the river and the main northern approaches to the city. The ARBiH also took control over the Vrapčići neighborhood in northeastern Mostar. Thus they secured the entire eastern part of the city. On 13 July the ARBiH mounted another offensive and captured Buna and Blagaj, south of Mostar. Two days later fierce fighting took place across the frontlines for control over northern and southern approaches to Mostar. The HVO launched a counterattack and recaptured Buna.[19] The ARBiH was unable to repeat its victories in central Bosnia against the HVO and drive the Croats out entirely. In the western part of the city HVO remained in control. They then expelled the Bosniak population from western Mostar, while thousands of men were taken to improvised camps. Both sides settled down and turned to shelling and sniping at each other, though the HVO superior heavy weaponry caused severe damage to eastern Mostar.[22]

Between June 1993 and April 1994 the HVO besieged the eastern side of Mostar. The ICTY found that "during this period, East Mostar and the neighbourhood of Donja Mahala in the west were subjected to a prolonged military assault by the HVO, including intense and uninterrupted gunfire and shelling. This firing and shelling caused many casualties, including the deaths of many civilians and representatives of international organisations. Ten mosques were badly damaged or destroyed. The HVO impeded and at times even completely cut off the passage of humanitarian aid. The Muslim population was thus forced to live in extremely harsh conditions, deprived of food, water, electricity and adequate care. Many women, including one 16-year-old girl, were raped by HVO soldiers before being forced across the front line to East Mostar."[31] Over 100,000 shells were launched into East Mostar by the HVO.[27]

In September 1993 the ARBiH launched an operation known as Operation Neretva '93 against the HVO in order to break through to southern Neretva valley and defeat the HVO in Herzegovina. Coordinated attacks were launched on HVO positions in the area. The focus of the attack was the HVO stronghold of Vrdi north of Mostar, but HVO managed to repel the attack. The ARBiH and HVO forces had clashes in Mostar and its Bijelo Polje and Raštani suburbs. The ARBiH maid some limited gains by attacking outward from the city in three directions. The HVO responded with artillery shelling on 23 September of the eastern part of the city and an ineffective counterattack on 24 September. The use of artillery by the ARBiH and HVO further damaged the city, but neither side made significant gains. After several days of negotiations, a cease-fire was agreed on 3 October.[32][33]

Destruction of the Stari Most Bridge

After the end of the JNA siege, the Stari Most bridge was the last one connecting the two banks of the Neretva River. The ARBiH held positions in the immediate vicinity of the bridge and it was used by the ARBiH between May and November 1993 for combat activities on the front line and also by the inhabitants of the right and left banks of the Neretva as a means of communication and supply.[34] On 8 November 1993 an HVO tank started firing on the Stari Most bridge. On the morning of 9 September it crumbled into the Neretva river.[35][36] The destruction put into virtually total isolation the Bosniak enclave of Donja Mahala on the right bank of the Neretva. A few days later the HVO destroyed the Kamenica makeshift bridge, constructed by the ARBiH in March 1993.[37] The ICTY in the Prlić et al. case concluded that the bridge was a legitimate military target for the HVO, but that its destruction caused disproportionate damage to the Bosniak civilian population of Mostar.[38]

Washington Agreement

Main article: Washington Agreement
Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović signing the Washington Agreement in 1994

On 26 February talks began in Washington, D.C. between the Bosnian government leaders and Mate Granić, Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss the possibilities of a permanent ceasefire and a confederation of Bosniak and Croat regions. A provisional agreement on a Croat-Bosniak Federation was reached in Washington on 1 March. On 18 March, at a ceremony hosted by US President Bill Clinton, Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdžić, Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granić and President of Herzeg-Bosnia Krešimir Zubak signed the ceasefire agreement. The agreement was also signed by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović and Croatian President Franjo Tuđman. Under this agreement, the combined territory held by the Croat and Bosnian government forces was divided into ten autonomous cantons. It effectively ended the Croat-Bosniak War.[39]

Casualties

Aerial photograph of Mostar in 1997

According to a report by Ewa Tabeau, which was used by the ICTY, a minimum of 539 persons died in East Mostar from May 1993 until the end of the conflict. That number doesn't include 484 deaths that had an unknown place of death, but occurred during the siege. Of the 539 deaths, 49.5% were of civilians and 50.5% were of militaries.[40]

Aftermath

The Stari Most Bridge undergoing reconstruction in 2003.

After the end of the war, plans were raised to reconstruct the bridge. The World Bank, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the World Monuments Fund formed a coalition to oversee the reconstruction of the Stari Most and the historic city centre of Mostar. Additional funding was provided by Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Croatia and the Council of Europe Development Bank, as well as the Bosnian government. In October 1998, UNESCO established an international committee of experts to oversee the design and reconstruction work. It was decided to build a bridge as similar as possible to the original, using the same technology and materials.[41] The bridge was re-built with local materials by Er-Bu Construction Corp a Turkish company, using Ottoman construction techniques.[42] Tenelia stone from local quarries was used and Hungarian army divers recovered stones from the original bridge from the river below. Reconstruction commenced on 7 June 2001. The reconstructed bridge was inaugurated on 23 July 2004.[41]

The HVO leadership, Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić, Berislav Pušić and Slobodan Praljak, were convicted in 2013 in a first-instance verdict by the ICTY in relation to war crimes during the Bosnian War. In the verdict, the Chamber found that during the HVO's presence in Mostar, thousands of Bosnian Muslims and other non-Croats were expelled from the western part of the city and forced into the eastern part.[38] ARBiH commander Sefer Halilović was indicted by the ICTY for war crimes commited during the Operation Neretva '93 and was found not guilty.[43]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Tabeau 2009, p. 383.
  2. ↑ Lukic & Lynch 1996, p. 203.
  3. ↑ Ramet 2006, p. 414.
  4. 1 2 Goldstein 1999, p. 243.
  5. ↑ Lukic & Lynch 1996, p. 206.
  6. ↑ Ramet 2010, p. 263.
  7. 1 2 Tanner 2001, p. 286.
  8. ↑ Ramet 2010, p. 264.
  9. ↑ Ramet 2010, p. 265.
  10. 1 2 3 CIA 2002, pp. 155.
  11. ↑ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  12. ↑ Hoare 2010, p. 127.
  13. 1 2 3 4 CIA 2002, pp. 156.
  14. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.6 2013, p. 288.
  15. 1 2 3 CIA 2002, pp. 157.
  16. ↑ CIA 2002b, pp. 361.
  17. ↑ Ruggles 2012, p. 152-153.
  18. ↑ Kaufman 13 July 1992.
  19. 1 2 CIA 2002, pp. 200.
  20. ↑ Halilovic judgement 2013, p. 64.
  21. ↑ Shrader 2003, p. 69.
  22. 1 2 Tanner 2001, p. 290.
  23. 1 2 3 CIA 2002, pp. 194.
  24. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.2 2013, p. 194.
  25. 1 2 Prlic et al. judgement vol.2 2013, p. 198.
  26. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.2 2013, p. 197.
  27. 1 2 Burg & Shoup 1999, p. 135.
  28. 1 2 Prlic et al. judgement vol.2 2013, p. 195.
  29. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.2 2013, p. 221.
  30. ↑ Christia 2012, p. 158.
  31. ↑ International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Prlić et al. CIS, p. 6.
  32. ↑ CIA 2002, pp. 202-203.
  33. ↑ Thomas 2006, p. 27.
  34. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.3 2013, p. 458-459.
  35. ↑ CIA 2002, pp. 201.
  36. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.3 2013, p. 461.
  37. ↑ Prlic et al. judgement vol.3 2013, p. 460.
  38. 1 2 Prlic et al. judgement summary 2013.
  39. ↑ Bethlehem, Weller 1997.
  40. ↑ Tabeau 2009, p. 69.
  41. 1 2 Armaly, Blasi & Hannah 2004.
  42. ↑ http://www.gen-eng.florence.it/starimost/00_main/main.htm
  43. ↑ Halilovic judgement 2007, p. 4.

References

Books and journals
News articles
International, governmental, and NGO sources
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