TOMORROW MARKS 34 YEARS SINCE MUSLIM POGROM AGAINST SERBS IN POFALIĆI

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, MAY 15 /SRNA/ – Around 200 Serb civilians were killed during the general attack by Muslim units on the Sarajevo settlement of Pofalići on May 16, 1992, while Serb-owned property was looted and burned in parallel with the killings and expulsion of Serbs.

On that day 34 years ago, a broad and systematic attack was carried out by Muslim paramilitary units of the so-called Patriotic League and Green Berets against the Serb population in the settlement of Gornji Pofalići, during which Serbs were captured, beaten, taken to prison camps, or killed at their doorsteps. In just one day, 16 square kilometers of territory where the Serb population had lived for centuries was completely ethnically cleansed of Serbs, according to the "Atlas of Crimes" of the Republic Research Centre of War, War Crimes and Tracing Missing Persons. According to data available to the competent authorities in Republika Srpska, the attack on Pofalići was prepared by the commander of the Territorial Defence of BiH Hasan Efendić, and local Territorial Defence commander Idriz Salko. Dozens of people were killed solely because of their Christian names and surnames, while hundreds were arrested, brutally beaten, and terrorized. Among the many abused women, it was proven that two underage girls were raped. The operation involved the Pofalići 1 unit commanded by Habib Idrizović, Pofalići 2 commanded by Jusuf Lošić, and the Velešići unit commanded by the now deceased Enver Šehović, while the Military Police battalion was headed by Dževad Topić. Before the attack, Pofalići was shelled daily, and the settlement was also targeted by sniper fire. During the attack on Pofalići, Slavica Đurović and her neighbours Savo Marić and Obren Pantović were killed, while Slavica's husband Dobro was seriously wounded. After the murder of retired police officer Mlađen Bratić, fear and panic spread among the population. Bratić was killed on May 4, 1992, in Gornji Pofalići, and on the same day Dragomir Ignjatović was wounded. Ten days later, Rajko Savić was killed by sniper fire, after which terror against Serb civilians, destruction, and looting of their property intensified. Then, on May 16 at 5:30 a.m., the attack on the fully surrounded settlement began from several directions - from the Railway Station, the Tobacco Factory, Buća Potok, and Kobilja Glava. Nada Vasković was also killed, while married couple Vojislav and Marica Pikulić were taken from their home and are still listed as missing. Married couple Mirko and Rosa Savić were also killed, as were Božidar and LJubica Elek, whose bodies were later burned. Spouses Stana and Stevan Vasković, as well as Vida Bratić, were also killed. The Pofalići crime claimed hundreds of lives, although the exact number has never been determined because many Serbs sought refuge in the predominantly Serb-populated Pofalići settlement at the beginning of the war. Many are still listed as missing, and those who survived this ordeal have not recovered their property and are therefore unable to speak openly about the suffering of their loved ones, fearing obstruction and negative reactions from Sarajevo authorities regarding requests for property return.