Battle of Vozuća

The Battle of Vozuća was a military offensive fought during the final months of the Bosnian War between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in the Vozuća–Ozren area. On 10 September 1995, units of the ARBiH 2nd and 3rd Corps launched a combined offensive against VRS positions. Elements of the 21st, 22nd and 25th Divisions of the 2nd Corps and the 35th and 37th Divisions of the 3rd Corps took part in the operation. The VRS defensive lines were broken, after which ARBiH forces captured Vozuća and surrounding territory previously held by the VRS.

The attack

On 10 September 1995, forces of the ARBiH 2nd and 3rd Corps launched a combined offensive against VRS positions in the Vozuća–Ozren area. According to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), elements of the 21st, 22nd and 25th Divisions of the 2nd Corps and the 35th and 37th Divisions of the 3rd Corps participated in the operation. The VRS-held defensive lines collapsed and ARBiH forces took control of Vozuća and part of the surrounding area.

The El Mudžahid Detachment, a unit of the ARBiH 3rd Corps, also participated in operations in the area. The ICTY found that by mid-1995 the detachment had been incorporated into the ARBiH command and control system, although it retained a degree of autonomy in its operations.

On 11 September, after the capture of Vozuća, approximately 60 people were captured, primarily VRS soldiers and several civilians, including three women. The captured group was initially taken to Kesten in the Zavidovići municipality, and some of the prisoners were subsequently transferred to the Kamenica camp in the Gostovići valley.

Crimes against prisoners

The ICTY found that members of the El Mudžahid Detachment killed an elderly Bosnian Serb civilian and 52 captured VRS soldiers in events connected with Kesten and Kamenica in September 1995. Ten other prisoners were also subjected to mistreatment.

The prisoners held at Kamenica were subjected to severe abuse. Some victims were beheaded, while surviving detainees testified to beatings and other forms of mistreatment.

Trial of Rasim Delić

Rasim Delić, commander of the Main Staff of the ARBiH, was prosecuted before the ICTY on the basis of superior responsibility for crimes committed by members of the El Mudžahid Detachment. He was not found guilty of command responsibility for the September 1995 murders and mistreatment connected with Kesten and Kamenica, because the Trial Chamber could not establish beyond reasonable doubt that he had reason to know that those specific crimes were about to be committed or had already been committed.

Delić was nevertheless sentenced to three years' imprisonment for failing to prevent or punish cruel treatment committed by members of the El Mudžahid Detachment against prisoners in other incidents during July and August 1995.

After Delić's death in 2010, the ICTY Appeals Chamber terminated the appeal proceedings and declared the Trial Chamber judgment final.

Trial of Sakib Mahmuljin

Former ARBiH 3rd Corps commander Sakib Mahmuljin was also prosecuted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in connection with crimes committed by members of the El Mudžahid Detachment. In 2022, the appellate chamber found him guilty of war crimes against the wounded and sick, prisoners of war and civilians, including murder and inhumane treatment, and sentenced him to eight years' imprisonment.

Outcome

The offensive ended with the capture of Vozuća and part of the Vozuća–Ozren area by ARBiH forces and the withdrawal of VRS units from positions they had previously held.

Further reading

• Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. ISBN 978-0160664724.