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| Siege of Mostar | ||||||||
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| Part of Bosnian War | ||||||||
 Destroyed buildings in Mostar, 2001. |
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
 Croatian Defense Council (HVO) Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia |
 Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) |
 Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) |
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| April–June, 1992 | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Jadranko Prlić Valentin Ćorić Berislav Pušić Bruno Stojić Milivoj Petković Slobodan Praljak |
Veljko Kadijević |
Sefer Halilović |
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| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The Siege of Mostar was fought between 1992 and 1993. Initially, it involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the 4th Corps of the ARBiH fighting against the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. However, as the conflict matured and as the political landscape changed, the Croats and Bosnian-Muslims began to fight amongst each other, culminating in an episode of the Bosnian War that was known as the Croat-Bosniak Conflict.
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The Siege [link]
After Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia, the town of Mostar was subjected to an 18 month siege. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) first bombarded Mostar on April 3, 1992 and over the following week gradually established control over large portions of the town. By June 12, 1992 the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the 4th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) in a joined action amassed enough strength to force the JNA out of Mostar. The JNA responded with heavy shelling. Amongst the destroyed buildings were a Franciscan monastery, the Catholic cathedral, the bishop's palace (with a library collection of over 50,000 books), a number of secular institutions as well as the Karadžoz-bey mosque, as well as thirteen other mosques.
In mid June 1992, after the battle line moved eastward, the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) demolished the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery as well as the Saborna Crkva (Orthodox Cathedral) which was built from 1863-1873. The Serb Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and the Church of the Birth of the Most Holy Virgin, both dating to the mid 19th century, were demolished by the Croats.[1][2] The Cathedral was also known as the New Orthodox Church, while the latter was known as the Old Orthodox Church
Croat-Bosniak War [link]
Mostar was divided into a Western part, which was dominated by the HVO forces and an Eastern part where the Bosnian Army (ARBiH) was largely concentrated. However, the Bosnian Army had its headquarters in Western Mostar in the basement of a building complex referred to as Vranica. In the early hours of 9 May 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked Eastern Mostar using artillery, mortars, heavy weapons and small arms. The HVO then gained control of all roads leading into Mostar and international organizations were denied access. Radio Mostar was occupied by the Croats and the broadcaster announced that all Bosniaks should hang out a white flag from their windows to indicate their surrender. The Croatian Defense Council attack had been well prepared and planned.[3]
During the HVO's presence in Mostar, thousands of Bosnian-Muslims and other non-Croats were expelled from the Western part of the city and forced into the Eastern part.[4] The Croatian forces' shelling reduced much of the east side of Mostar to rubble. The Croatian Defense Council's forces then engaged in mass executions[citation needed], beatings and rapes[citation needed] directed at the Bosniak people of Western Mostar and its surroundings. The fierce siege and shelling campaign against the Bosnian Government-controlled Eastern Mostar continued. The HVO campaign resulted in thousands of injuries and fatalities.[4]
The ARBiH launched an operation known as Operation Neretva '93 against the HVO and the Croatian Army in September 1993 to end the siege of Mostar, and to recapture areas of Herzegovina that were under the control of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia.[5] The siege officially ended in December 1993.
Destruction of the Stari Most Bridge [link]
The Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993, during the siege. After its destruction a temporary cable bridge was erected in its place.
Responsibility for the destruction of the Bridge is attributed to Bosnian Croat artillery fire.[6][7][8] Starting on 8 November 1993 the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) bombarded the bridge. Sarajevo-based newspapers reported that more than sixty shells hit the bridge before it collapsed.[9] After the destruction of the Stari Most, a spokesman for the Croats admitted that they deliberately destroyed it, claiming that it was of strategic importance.[10] Academics have argued that the bridge held little strategic value and that its shelling was an example of deliberate cultural property destruction. Andras Riedlmayer terms the destruction an act of "killing memory", in which evidence of a shared cultural heritage and peaceful co-existence were deliberately destroyed.[9]
Aftermath [link]
After the end of the Bosnian War, plans were raised to reconstruct the Stari Most bridge. It was decided to build a bridge as similar as possible to the original, using the same technology and materials.[11] The bridge was built with local materials. Tenelia stone from local quarries was used and Hungarian Army divers recovered stones from the original bridge from the river below.[11] Reconstruction commenced on 7 June 2001 and the reconstructed bridge was inaugurated on 23 July 2004.[11]
The HVO leadership (Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić and Berislav Pušić) and the Croatian Army officer Slobodan Praljak[12] are presently on trial at the ICTY on charges including crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions and violations of the laws or customs of war (with the prosecution alleging that he ordered the destruction of the Stari Most bridge.[4][13]) ARBiH commander Sefer Halilović was charged with one count of "Violation of the Laws and Customs of War" on the basis of superior criminal responsibility for the incidents that occurred during Operation Neretva '93 and was found not guilty.
References [link]
- ^ ICTY indictment against the Croat Herzeg-Bosnia leadership, Statement of the Case, Article 27, 2003.
- ^ Prof. Michael Sells' page documenting the destruction
- ^ "ICTY: Naletilić and Matinović verdict". https://www.icty.org/x/cases/naletilic_martinovic/cis/en/cis_naletilic_martinovic_en.pdf.
- ^ a b c "ICTY: Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić & Berislav Pušić". https://www.icty.org/x/cases/prlic/cis/en/cis_prlic_al_en.pdf.
- ^ Thomas, Nigel; Mikulan, K. (2006). The Yugoslav Wars: Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia 1992–2001. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-84176-964-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=a7cOQ9Nch2AC&pg=PA27.
- ^ Traynor, Ian (July 24, 2004). "Mostar reclaims Ottoman heritage". The Guardian (London). https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jul/24/iantraynor. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ Woodard, Colin (2000). "Bosnia: Stillborn". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 56 (5): 17–19. DOI:10.2968/056004006.
- ^ Grodach, Carl (2002). "Reconstituting identity and history in post-war Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina". City 6 (1): 61–82. DOI:10.1080/13604810220142844.
- ^ a b Coward, Martin (2009). Urbicide: The Politics of Urban Destruction. London: Routledge. pp. 1–7. ISBN 0-415-46131-6. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vVvzcTqH5iMC&lpg=PA6&dq=stari%20most%20hvo&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Borowitz, Albert (2005). Terrorism for self-glorification: the herostratos syndrome. Kent State University Press. pp. 65. ISBN 0-87338-818-6.
- ^ a b c Armaly, Maha; Blasi, Carlo; Hannah, Lawrence (2004). "Stari Most: rebuilding more than a historic bridge in Mostar". Museum International 56 (4): 6–17. DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0033.2004.00044.x.
- ^ Del Ponte, Carla (March 2, 2004). "The Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Jadranko Prlic, Bruno Stojic, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petkovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic: Indictment". ICTY. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/prlic/ind/en/prl-ii040304e.htm. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ^ "Nije dokazano da je HVO srušio Stari most u Mostaru [It hasn't been proven that the HVO destroyed Stari most in Mostar]" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 2010-01-14. https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/nije-dokazano-da-je-hvo-srusio-stari-most-mostaru-clanak-79259. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
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https://wn.com/Siege_of_Mostar
Mostar
Mostar (Cyrillic: Мостар) is a city and municipality in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inhabited by 113,169 people, it is the most important city in the Herzegovina region, its cultural capital, and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva River and is the fifth-largest city in the country. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans.
History
Human settlements on the river Neretva, between the Hum Hill and the Velež Mountain, have existed since prehistory, as witnessed by discoveries of fortified enceintes and cemeteries. Evidence of Roman occupation was discovered beneath the present town.
As far as medieval Mostar goes, although the Christian basilicas of late antiquity remained in use, few historical sources were preserved and not much is known about this period. The name of Mostar was first mentioned in a document dating from 1474, taking its name from the bridge-keepers (mostari); this refers to the existence of a wooden bridge from the market on the left bank of the river which was used by traders, soldiers, and other travelers. During this time it was also the seat of a kadiluk (district with a regional judge). Since Mostar was on the trade route between the Adriatic and the mineral-rich regions of central Bosnia, the settlement began to spread to the right bank of the river.
Mostar (magazine)
Mostar is a monthly magazine of culture and actuality. It began publishing in March 2005. Its name originates from Stari Most in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
