LINTA: 81 SERB CIVILIANS KILLED IN CROATIAN ARMY ATTACK ON REFUGEE CONVOY NEAR JAJCE IN 1995

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 13 /SRNA/ – Miodrag Linta, president of the Association of Serbs from the Region, said the crime in the village of Bravnice near Jajce must never be forgotten, nor should those responsible for the brutal killing of 81 Serb civilians on September 13, 1995, escape accountability.

Linta reminded that one of the gravest crimes against Serb civilians during the war in BiH took place 31 years ago in Bravnice, along the road taken by women, children and elderly people fleeing from Srbobran, now Donji Vakuf, towards Banja Luka. Members of the Croatian Army opened fire on the refugee convoy killing 81 Serb civilians, including eight children under the age of 14. The youngest victim was just three years old, while the oldest was 91. "According to witness accounts, more than half of the passengers in a single bus that came under Croatian Army fire were killed or wounded. The bus was subsequently hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and set on fire while the wounded and dead were still inside," Linta pointed out. He said that, according to available information, members of the Croatian Army's 4th Guards Brigade and other Croatian officers and soldiers were involved in the crime, but that no court has yet established responsibility for the deaths of the Serb civilians, the Association of Serbs from the Region said in a statement. "The fact that responsibility for such a grave crime against civilians has still not been established after 31 years confirms that there is no justice for Serb victims and their families. It is further evidence that Serb victims in BiH have not received equal treatment before the judicial institutions," Linta stressed. He said Bravnice must not be forgotten, not out of hatred towards any nation, but in the interests of truth, justice and the dignity of the victims. "As long as no one is held accountable for this crime, Bravnice will remain an open wound and a warning that crimes against innocent people must not be silenced," Linta said. He stressed that Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor's Office has an obligation to take all actions provided for by law, open an investigation and, based on the evidence, bring charges against those responsible for this grave crime against Serb civilians in BiH.