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, ...

civilians by

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

on 1 June 1992 in the settlement Bijeli Potok within the village Đulići, located in the municipality of

Zvornik Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Republika Srpska, on the left bank of the Drina river. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. The town of Mali Zvornik ("Little Zvornik") lies ...

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 ...

. About 675

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

and Serbian volunteer soldiers) occupied the city of

and began occupying and ethnically cleansing surrounding villages of the

Bosnian Muslim 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 ...

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 b ...

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 The Srebrenica massacre ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Masakr u Srebrenici, Масакр у Сребреници), also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Genocid u Srebrenici, Геноцид у Сребрен ...

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 a police station in Zvornik in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He killed one police officer and wounded two others before he was shot dead by other police off ...

. The shooter, Nerdin Ibrić, was one year old at the time of the massacre, when his father Sejfo was taken by Serbs from the

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