Djukic: Helping the wounded
26 August 2008 Four more Prosecution witnesses describe what happened on the day when dozens of young people were either killed or wounded in Tuzla.
Four new Prosecution witnesses spoke about May
25, 1995, when a mortar hit the Kapija area in Tuzla, where young people used
to gather, killing 71 and wounding more than 200 people.
The
Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges this crime upon Novak Djukic,
former commander of the Ozren Tactical Group with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS.
The Prosecution considers that, on May 25, 1995 Djukic ordered an artillery
squad, situated on mount Ozren, to shell Tuzla, using M46 cannons.
"I heard an explosion and I saw a lot of dust. A few seconds
later we heard screams and cries for help. There was blood everywhere. People
were saying all kinds of things, like 'do not leave us here, save us' and so on,
" Nadir Huremovic said. As he was not injured on that day, he and his friend
tried to help the wounded.
Witness Vildana Isic said that her two
brothers were wounded on that day, but she was not injured. She said that she
went to Gradina hospital by car, together with her brothers and a few other
wounded people. When they got there they received medical assistance.
"I
had to step on my friends' body parts. When we arrived to the hospital, I found
out that my boyfriend had been killed. A friend of mine, who was with me on that
day, died ten days later," Isic said.
Witnesses Edin Altunbabic and Adnan
Aliefendic were not wounded on May 25, 1995. As they said in the courtroom, they
tried to help whoever they could after the mortar had hit the ground.
"I drove a few people to the hospital. I stayed there, helping others
carry the wounded people to the hospital. I remember a truck, which drove many
wounded people to the hospital. Most of them did not show any signs of life,"
Altunbabic said.
The trial is due to continue on September 2, 2008, when
the Prosecution will examine three more witnesses.
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
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