Atif Dudaković
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Atif Dudaković (born 2 December 1954) is a retired Bosnian general who served in the
Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
. During 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 ...
, Dudaković was in command of the
Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
enclave, which was surrounded and besieged from 1991 to 1995, commanding the 5th Corps. After the war he became the general commander of the
Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, Vojska Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine) was the military of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina created after the 1995 Dayton Agreement. It consisted of two merging units which had bee ...
. In 2018, he was charged with war crimes.


Early life and education

Dudaković was born in the village of Orahova near Gradiška. He served in the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
(JNA), teaching at an artillery school in
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
and a military academy in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
.


Career

In 1991, at the beginning of the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
, he served as the artillery superintendent of the 9th Corps of the JNA with headquarters in
Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...
, and was directly subordinated to the Serb General
Ratko Mladić Ratko Mladić ( sr-Cyrl, Ратко Младић, ; born 12 March 1942) is a Bosnian Serb convicted war criminal and colonel-general who led the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2017, he was found guilty of committing ...
. At this point he left the federal army. After the outbreak of the war in Bosnia, Dudaković joined the newly established
Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
(ARBiH). Eventually he became commander of the 5th Corps, defending Bihać. The situation there was difficult as Bihać was surrounded on all sides by enemies of the ARBiH: by the
Army of Republika Srpska The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...
; by
Republic of Serb Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...
; and by forces of the
Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia The Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia ( bs, Autonomna Pokrajina Zapadna Bosna), or Western Bosnia, was a small unrecognised state that existed in the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1993 and 1995. It consisted of the town of Ve ...
, the renegade
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 ...
forces of
Fikret Abdić Fikret Abdić (born 29 September 1939) is a Bosnian politician and businessman who first rose to prominence in the 1980s for his role in turning the Velika Kladuša-based agriculture company Agrokomerc into one of the biggest conglomerates in S ...
. The 5th Corps successfully defended the enclave and in 1995 broke out from the
encirclement Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The situation is highly dangerous for the encircled force. At the strategic level, it cannot receive supplies or reinforceme ...
and captured the towns of
Bosanski Petrovac Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a ...
,
Bosanska Krupa Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants. It i ...
, Ključ,
Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northweste ...
and were on the verge of entering
Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...
and
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
before the United States and NATO threatened to bomb the Bosnian forces if they didn’t stop. After the war he continued to serve in the Bosnian army, holding the top positions of Deputy Chief of Joint General Staff of Army of the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...
and Commander of Joint Command of Army of the Federation. Since 2005 he has been under investigation for war crimes allegedly committed against ethnic Serbs in 1995. In September 2006, the Serbian television stations
B92 RTV B92, or simply B92 (stylized as b92, formerly BΞ92 and B 92), is a Serbian news station and broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade. Founded in 1989 as radio station, it was a rare outlet for Western news and informat ...
and
Radio Television of Serbia Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
broadcast two video tapes one of which apparently shows Dudaković giving an order of "fire" or "burn it all" referring to a Serb village during
Operation Sana Operation Sana ( bs, Operacija Sana) was the final military offensive of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (''Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine'' – ARBiH) in western Bosnia and Herzegovina and the last major battle of the B ...
in 1995. After the video was released Dudaković gave a statement saying: In 2010, he joined the
Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Stranka za Bosnu i Hercegovinu) is a Bosniak nationalist political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The party fervently opposed the continued power in hands of ethnic entities such as the Federation of B ...
of
Haris Silajdžić Haris Silajdžić (; born 1 October 1945) is a Bosnians, Bosnian politician and Academic personnel, academic who served as the List of Bosniak members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5th Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and ...
.


War crimes charges

In April 2018, police detained Atif Dudaković and 12 others on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity during the Bosnian war. All were members of the Bosnian army's 5th Corps, which under Dudaković's leadership was in charge of the Bihac area. They were suspected of having carried out atrocities against civilians including ethnic Serbs and Bosniaks, who were loyal to other Bosnian leaders, and prisoners during the war. The case against them was based on more than 100 witness interviews, video footage and evidence from exhumations. Bosniaks rallied in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, carried a large banner reading "Heroes, not criminals!", to express their support to them. Dudaković and the others are accused of killing over 300 civilians and the destruction of 38 Serb Orthodox churches. In October 2018, Dudaković was formally indicted for crimes against humanity.


Military ranks

JNA *Major (1988)
ARBiH The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
*
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
*
Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
(21 August 1994) *
Division general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corp ...
(7 August 1995) *
Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudakovic, Atif 1953 births Living people Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina generals People from Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army