History of a unit · Gacko · April 1992 – November 1992
Expelled from Gacko, they defended Mostar: The Independent Gacko Battalion "Šargan"
In the spring and summer of 1992, Bosniaks from the Gacko municipality were subjected to intimidation, detention, killings and forcible expulsion, while women, children and the elderly were sent to neighbouring municipalities and as far as Macedonia. A number of the expelled men made their way through to Mostar, where the Samostalni gatački bataljon "Šargan" was formed on 26 August 1992; it then became part of the 4th Corps of the Army of the RBiH and later of the 49th Light Brigade.
Where and when
Gacko
- Date
- April 1992 – November 1992
- Place
- Mostar, Gacko, Kula Fazlagića
- Coordinates
- 43.17° N · 18.54° E
Spring 1992 in Gacko
For the Bosniaks of Gacko, 1992 began with the closing of roads. Serb reservists, police and members of the Serb Territorial Defence set up barricades and checkpoints as early as the beginning of the year, where Bosniaks were stopped and mistreated. According to the findings of the Hague Tribunal, the "Bijeli orlovi" patrolled Gacko together with local JNA units, beat Bosniaks, looted their property and shelled Bosniak villages and the mosque.
According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, on the night of 29 to 30 April 1992 the destruction of property and attacks on Bosniaks began in Gacko, Kula Fazlagića, Borač and Gračanica.
From April 1992, detained Bosniaks and Croats were held in at least six places: the post office in Avtovac, the SJB Gacko building, the barracks in Avtovac, Kula Fazlagića, the thermal power plant and the hotel near the power plant. In July 1992, Serb forces blew up the town mosque in Gacko.
Expulsion
In June and July 1992, a large number of Bosniaks and Croats left the municipality. Women, children and the elderly were moved to surrounding municipalities or to Macedonia. Bosniaks were forcibly displaced, their property was looted and their religious buildings destroyed. According to court findings cited by the portal Stav.ba, this concerned approximately 800 women and children, and in the summer of 1992, 137 Muslims were killed in the Gacko municipality, mostly women, children and the elderly.
According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, a column of more than 1,100 civilians from Gacko – women, children and the elderly – crossed into Montenegro, and in total more than 6,500 people from eastern Herzegovina and parts of eastern Bosnia went on through Montenegro towards Macedonia.
The solidarity of their hosts
In his testimony, Idrizović particularly highlights the help the expelled received along the way. Local residents in Montenegro – in Plav, Gusinje, Petnjica and Rožaje – and in Macedonia – in Studenčica near Skopje, Gostivar and Tetovo – opened their homes and mosques to them. In 1992, about 32,000 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina arrived in Macedonia; most lived in private houses around Skopje and in the Polog region, in Tetovo and Gostivar.
Return to Bosnia
The men from Gacko did not give up on their country. According to the testimony of Sanel Idrizović, although they could have gone to European countries and Sweden, they returned to Bosnia through five different countries. According to another source, some of the young men from Gacko made their way across the mountains, via Stolac and Bileća, to Mostar. It is possible that these two accounts describe different groups.
In Mostar they first joined HVO units, which were then cooperating with the Army of the RBiH, and there they were trained and armed. A group led by Enver Vasić "Pinjo" and Džemal Jugo "Kemo" tried to break through the enemy lines towards Gacko and to evacuate the last more than 270 civilians from Kula Fazlagića and the surrounding mountains.