Survivor tells story of mass killing orchestrated by Bosnian Serb general

November 7, 1995
Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT)

From Correspondent Christiane Amanpour

TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- Hurem Suljic carries a tale of mass murder of Muslim civilians that could tear apart Balkan peace talks.

Last July, he says, Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic directed the killing of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of men from the conquered safe haven of Srebrenica.

His account supports allegations of war crimes by Bosnian Serbs that have sparked intense disagreement at the peace talks under way near Dayton, Ohio.

Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic opposes a plan that would prevent indicted or convicted war criminals from participating in a new collective government. Both Mladic and Serb leader Radovan Karadzic are charged with war crimes, and Milosevic says excluding them from a future government would make his role as Bosnian Serb representative extremely difficult.

When Srebrenica fell in July, Mladic brought in his own video crew to film him reassuring Muslim civilians. In the video, Mladic addresses the crowd, saying "Don't panic. Let the small children and women pass. Don't be afraid, no one will do you any harm." Some in the crowd thanked him. But according to the allegations, when the cameras were turned off, everything changed.

Suljic and his family, who now live in the Bosnian government-held territory of Tuzla, were among the Srebrenica residents leaving the city that July day. He said his wife, Raza, was bused out with the rest of the women and children. But Suljic and the other men were not allowed to leave.

Suljic said Mladic introduced himself and promised them they were to be exchanged for Serb prisoners. Instead, they began a journey that took them to makeshift detention centers, where, Suljic said, killings and beatings began. He told of Serb soldiers hitting one man on the head with an iron bar, another with an ax.

At one point, he said, Serb soldiers fired over their heads and threatened to kill them all. Groups of 10 were taken outside and never came back.

Next, Suljic said, they were herded onto trucks and driven along a dirt track. Bodies came into view, and the trucks stopped. Suljic said he and the others were ordered to stand near the bodies and not look around. Then the shooting started. (112K AIFF sound or 112K WAV sound)

Suljic wasn't hit. Lying on the ground, he kept as quiet and still as he could. He said if anyone showed any signs of life, the Serb soldiers would say, " Tell us where you are. Where are you?" Then, they would kill him.

Suljic, able to see by the light of the moon and the lights on big digging machines, said truckloads of men were killed. It was then, Suljic remembered, he saw Serb commander Mladic one last time. Eventually the killing stopped and the Serb soldiers left. (72K AIFF sound or 72K WAV sound)

The women who were allowed to leave Srebrenica report 8,000 of their men are still missing.

Now, the United Nations is concerned about the fate of another 5,000 men unaccounted for in Serb-held areas of northern Bosnia. "We essentially have to fear the worst, after what happened in Srebrenica." said U.N. High Commission on Refugees spokesman Kris Janowski. "We're probably only seeing the tip of the iceberg." (136K AIFF sound or 136K WAV sound)

The Bosnian Serbs deny all the allegations. They have said Muslims buried in mass graves were killed in combat.

Shortly after Srebrenica fell, Mladic was indicted for war crimes allegedly committed earlier in the war.

Suljic said he'll testify if Mladic ever comes to trial.

Survivor tells story of mass killing orchestrated by Bosnian Serb general

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