Blindfolds and Clothing Found
(SAHINICI, April 5—AP) War crimes investigators have found blindfolds and clothing in an eastern Bosnian field that may have been a burial ground for the worst massacre in the country’s war. Survivors say up to 7,000 Muslim men were slaughtered by Bosnian Serbs who overran the nearby Muslim enclave of Srebrenica last summer. The men were reportedly brought to a school gymnasium where they were told to remove their hats and coats. They were then blindfolded and taken to two fields where they were shot and buried in mass graves.First Spring Thaw in Peace Yields Evidence
In Bosnia’s first spring thaw in peace after four years of war, investigators are collecting evidence for use at the international war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands. The tribunal has indicted Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic for their alleged roles in the Srebrenica massacres. Two Bosnian Serb soldiers who are suspected of taking part have been extradited from Serbia to the tribunal.Other mass graves dot Bosnia, but Srebrenica appears to be the site of the greatest massacre by far of the war, and the fields around it have come to symbolize the horror of Bosnia’s ordeal. The Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported today that the excavation of a mass grave in the northwestern town of at Mrkonjic Grad has been completed, with 181 bodies removed.
Many Victims were Civilians
Many of the victims are civilians, including women and children, Tanjug said. It quoted the head of the excavation team, Zoran Stankovic, as saying signs of torture were visible, mostly on the head. Serbs say the victims apparently were killed by Croats. Mrkonjic Grad was Serb-held for most of the war, but taken by Bosnian Croat and Muslim forces last fall. The Serbs regained control of it through the U.S.-brokered peace accord.At Sahinici, six U.N. investigators recovered blindfolds and clothing from brush off a hillside road Thursday. Digging in one of the fields with trowels and spades, they found more clothing and some bones. They gathered the evidence in plastic wrap. The blindfolds were sorted and stacked in neat rows for inventory. Because investigators have roped off the area, it was impossible to get close enough to say how many there were. But it appeared there were between five and 10 in each row.
Reports of Serb Tampering
The U.N. team began investigating the site on Wednesday and has found more than 50 pieces of evidence, including a whole skeleton. The investigators plan to return for a third day today and investigate the second field. Each field is about the size of a basketball court. There have been reports the Serbs have tampered with the sites to cover up their alleged war crimes, and both fields appeared Thursday to have mounds of fresh dirt rising from the ground. But Col. John Batiste, commander of an American brigade providing security for the investigators, said the sites are still under satellite surveillance, and that as far as he knew they had not been tampered with.Batiste said he did not know how long the operation would last. He said the U.S. troops would not clear mines, exhume remains, or guard sites when the investigators are not working.
Additional resources
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Reports concerning human rights abuses in Bosnia Intac Access
Major War Criminals/Suspects from CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia CalTech's Bosnia Site
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