Kramer Selo massacre
| Kramer Selo massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Bosnian War | |
| Location | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Coordinates | 43°49′26″N 18°57′08″E / 43.82389°N 18.95222°ECoordinates: 43°49′26″N 18°57′08″E / 43.82389°N 18.95222°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Attack type | Mass murder, forced march, persecution |
| Weapons | Firearms |
| Deaths | 36 |
| Victims | Bosniak villagers from Kramer Selo and Rakitnica |
| Perpetrators | Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) (1st Podrinje Light Infantry Brigade / Sočica Company) |
| Motive | Forced removal of the non-Serb population |
| Accused | 4 (Mile Kušić, Ilija Vukašinović, Saša Perković, Rajko Kušić) |
The Kramer Selo massacre was the mass murder of Bosniak civilian men committed by members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on 2 August 1992 in the Rogatica municipality during the Bosnian War.[1][2] The victims were rounded up from Kramer Selo and neighboring hamlets before being separated from women and children and executed.[1][2]
Background
Following the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Bosnia in early 1992, the town of Rogatica and its surrounding settlements became targets of systemic ethnic cleansing operations orchestrated by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) and local Serb crisis staffs, as documented by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).[3] Serb military formations, including the VRS Rogatica Brigade, sought to forcibly remove the Bosniak population from the region to establish ethnically homogenous areas.[3]
Attack and Mass Killing
On 2 August 1992, members of local Serb military units, specifically the Sočica Company operating under the wider Rogatica Brigade, launched an assault on Kramer Selo. Simultaneously, neighboring Bosniak hamlets such as Kozadre and Rakitnica were targeted.
During the takeover, Serb soldiers looted homes and abused the local population. According to indictments by the state prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and witness testimonies presented before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, individual abuses occurred during the immediate round-up; soldier Ilija Vukašinović was indicted for participating in the attack and detaining civilians, while another soldier, Mile Kušić, was accused of shooting a civilian in the legs to extort valuables.
Following the initial capture, soldiers forced the gathered civilians from Kramer Selo and Rakitnica into a march toward the settlement of Han Stjenica and a local primary school building. Upon arrival at Han Stjenica, commanders and soldiers separated the men from the women and children. The women and children were subsequently detained or expelled, while the Bosniak men were held in front of the school and summarily executed with gunfire.
Aftermath and Legal Proceedings
The bodies of the victims were hidden in mass and individual graves across the municipality. Local testimonies and judicial records indicate that some secondary grave sites were subsequently covered or moved.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) launched official war crimes investigations into the events. Former VRS members including Mile Kušić, Ilija Vukašinović, and Saša Perković were tried before state judicial authorities for their alleged roles in organizing the forced movement, the physical abuse of civilians, and the subsequent execution of the separated men. However, in May 2017, the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ultimately acquitted the accused due to insufficient evidence.[4] Proceedings related to the wider Rogatica Brigade command structure, including wartime commander Rajko Kušić, have also progressed through regional jurisdictions.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Saopćenje Tužilaštva BiH" (PDF). Državna agencija za istrage i zaštitu (SIPA) / Dnevni Avaz. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Witness Says Vukasinovic Detained Civilians in Kramer Selo". Detektor.ba. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Prosecution Case - Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ "Marković et al.: First-Instance Verdict Revoked, Acquittal Ordered". Detektor.ba. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
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