THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, June 11 (Hina)- Protected witness for the prosecution C-17 in the trial against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic before the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague (ICTY) on Wednesday continued to testify
about the activities of Serb paramilitary forces in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, including actions conducted by the Red Berets which he was part of.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, June 11 (Hina)- Protected witness for the
prosecution C-17 in the trial against former Yugoslav president
Slobodan Milosevic before the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague
(ICTY) on Wednesday continued to testify about the activities of
Serb paramilitary forces in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina,
including actions conducted by the Red Berets which he was part of.
#L#
The witness said that the Red Berets - a unit for specialised
operations in state security in Serbia - in 1991/92 had several
bases in Croatia.
He described that the "Red Berets" and "Seselj's Chetniks" took
part in the attack on Mostar on May 6, 1992 together with the local
Serb Territorial Defence and Yugoslav Peoples' Army units
commanded by Momcilo Perisic.
During the attack, everything was burnt or looted while Muslims and
Croats were driven out of the town, the witness said.
The witness said that as the JNA retreated from Mostar in June
Seselj's Chetniks killed dozens of Bosnian civilians from Zalik on
the banks of the Neretva river.
He described the occupation of Nevesinje which involved the forces
already listed as well as paramilitary units formed by "Vukovar"
residents who then completely cleansed the town off Muslims and
Croats.
The witness said that he heard that Chetniks in the "White Eagles"
raped and killed some nuns and civilians in a Catholic convent in
Bijelo Polje, near Mostar.
He said that paramilitary forces also consisted of volunteers from
Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus.
He also testified about Serb attacks on Sarajevo where he was in
1994 and 1995 as part of the "White Wolves", a special force from the
Interior Ministry in Republika Srpska.
Cross-examining the witness, Milosevic, who is defending himself
before the Tribunal, claimed that the "Red Berets" that the witness
described had nothing to do with the Red Berets from Serbia.
"That is not true, they all had ID cards issued by the Security
Agency of Serbia (SDB)," the witness said adding that he had been
abducted to be a guide in the force.
In support of his arguments, Milosevic spoke about the violence of
Muslim extremists and the Croatian HOS forces directed against Serb
nationals in Mostar and its surroundings as well as the abduction of
Serbs and their detention in Dretelj and other prison camps as well
as the attacks on Serb villages following the withdrawal of the
JNA.
(Hina) sp it sb