ĆOSIĆ: THE CRIME IN POFALIĆI IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF SERBS FROM SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, MAY 16 /SRNA/ - The crime committed by Muslim forces against the Serbian population in Sarajevo's Pofalići neighborhood in mid-May 1992 is an example of the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Sarajevo for which no one has been held accountable, because otherwise it would show that Bosniaks wanted to create an ethnically pure city, Istočno Sarajevo Mayor Ljubiša Ćosić told SRNA.

Ćosić stated that there is evidence that crimes against Serbs were committed at 325 locations in Sarajevo, and that Pofalići is just one of those places. "In May 1992, Pofalići, as a neighborhood traditionally inhabited by Serbs, became an obstacle to someone's plan of creating an ethnically pure Sarajevo," Ćosić said, marking 34 years since the mass attack by Bosniak forces in which a large number of Serbs were killed, survivors were expelled, and their property was looted and burned. Ćosić said it is tragic that the attack happened in 1992, at a time when everyone publicly advocated for multiethnicity and coexistence. "Today, we have a situation where there are no Serbs in Sarajevo, and even the few who remain do not feel free to say they are Serbs," Ćosić said, concluding that the idea of creating an ethnically pure Sarajevo had succeeded. The other side of the issue, Ćosić added, is that efforts were made to cover up crimes against Serbs and ensure that no one would be held accountable, so that it could be portrayed as though Serbs had left their homes voluntarily. "Pofalići is an example that Serbs were expelled, killed, and that no one has answered for it, because otherwise it would confirm the thesis that Bosniaks sought to create an ethnically pure area," Ćosić concluded. During the general attack by Muslim units on the Sarajevo neighborhood of Pofalići in the early morning of May 16, 1992, around 200 Serbian civilians were killed, while alongside the killings and expulsions, Serbian property was looted and burned.