The Bijeli Potok massacre refers to the mass killing of 675
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
civilians by
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
on 1 June 1992 in the settlement Bijeli Potok within the village
Đulići, located in the municipality of
Zvornik,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. About 675
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
men and boys, from the multiple villages around Zvornik, were separated from their families by Serb forces, and slaughtered within a week at Bijeli Potok and their bodies hidden in mass graves throughout the
Drina Valley
Podrinje (Serbian Cyrillic: Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in ...
.
As of May 2020, the remains of about 245 of the victims have yet to be found.
Background and overview
The
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
started in spring of 1992. On 8 April 1992, Serbs (of the
Army of Republika Srpska and Serbian volunteer soldiers) occupied the city of
Zvornik and began occupying and
ethnically cleansing surrounding villages of the
Bosnian Muslim inhabitants. Bosnian Muslims were ethnically cleansed from all villages between April and May 1992, including Hajdarevići, Dardagani,
Đulići, Bijeli Potok, Kučić Kula, Klisa, Šetići, Lupići, Petkovci, Tršić, Radava,
Liplje, Čelišmani, Mahmutovići, Sjenokos, and Džine. Some were chased out to the village Klisa. On 31 May 1992 Nurija Jašarević, president of the local community Klisa, and Alija Đulić, president of the local community Đulići, made a deal with the Serb invaders that all of the Bosnian Muslims would relocate to the ''safe area'' of
Sapna
Sapna is a town and municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
People have lived in the Sapna region since the earliest days. In the Middle Ages, Sapna was an im ...
via trucks, cars and tractors in the morning. This never occurred and the following day a massacre occurred in which most Bosnian Muslim men and boys, aged 15 to 80, were killed by the Serbs.
The largest number of victims in this massacre from a single village was from
Đulići, with between 176 and 188 victims killed in the 1 June 1992 massacre.
Mass graves and remains
In 2003, the
Crni Vrh mass grave The Crni Vrh mass grave, discovered in 2003, is among the largest mass graves found in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War of the 1990s. It was discovered on the mountain Crni Vrh, and contained the remains of 629 Bosniak victims, killed ...
was uncovered, containing the remains of 629 Bosnian Muslim victims of massacres around Zvornik and Srebrenica during the war. Some of the victims were killed in the Bijeli Potok massacre, and multiple other massacres including the
Srebrenica Genocide.
Related events
Retribution for this massacre is believed to be the motive behind the
2015 Zvornik police station shooting
April 27 terrorist attack happened when a muslim gunman attacked Ministry of Interior (Republika Srpska), a police station in Zvornik in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He killed one police officer and wounded two others bef ...
. The shooter, Nerdin Ibrić, was one year old at the time of the massacre, when his father Sejfo was taken by Serbs from the
Army of Republika Srpska and became one of the 675 Bosnian Muslim victims of the massacre.
References
{{Bosnian War
Massacres in 1992
Massacres in the Bosnian War
Massacres of men
Serbian war crimes in the Bosnian War
1992 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
History of Zvornik
June 1992 events in Europe
1992 crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina
1992 murders in Europe
1990s murders in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Violence against men in Europe
Massacres of Bosniaks
Incidents of violence against boys