“Croat homes also shelled during Storm”

A protected witness at the Hague Tribunal trial of three Croatian generals said Croat homes had also been shelled during Operation Storm.

Source: Beta

Thursday, 15.05.2008.

09:45

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A protected witness at the Hague Tribunal trial of three Croatian generals said Croat homes had also been shelled during Operation Storm. Ante Gotovina, who ordered the operation, Ivan Cermak, the military chief in Knin, and Mladen Markac, commander of the Croatian military police, are accused of driving Serbs out of the Knin Krajina along with other war crimes allegedly committed in August and September of 1995. “Croat homes also shelled during Storm” Witness P-54, who was working at the time at the UN base in Knin, said that when the shelling had started on August 4, 1995, he had been at home, after which he quickly fled to the basement of a nearby hotel to seek shelter from the attacks. He said that a shell had hit and destroyed the home of his neighbor, Sima Duic. The witness had helped his neighbor get to the hotel basement and had taken his wife and child, who had been injured in the attack, to the UNPROFOR base. The witness identified several buildings in Knin that had been hit, which he did not believe had been serving any military purpose at the time. He said that he had been about to leave Knin before “Storm” began, and that he had fled to a nearby village, but said that he had been certain that he would be able to return eventually. When he saw that that was not going to be possible, he joined a group of Serbs leaving Knin. That group was later attacked near Bosanski Petrovac by two Croatian bombers, the witness said. The defense is due to cross-examine the witness today.

“Croat homes also shelled during Storm”

Witness P-54, who was working at the time at the UN base in Knin, said that when the shelling had started on August 4, 1995, he had been at home, after which he quickly fled to the basement of a nearby hotel to seek shelter from the attacks.

He said that a shell had hit and destroyed the home of his neighbor, Šima Duić. The witness had helped his neighbor get to the hotel basement and had taken his wife and child, who had been injured in the attack, to the UNPROFOR base.

The witness identified several buildings in Knin that had been hit, which he did not believe had been serving any military purpose at the time.

He said that he had been about to leave Knin before “Storm” began, and that he had fled to a nearby village, but said that he had been certain that he would be able to return eventually.

When he saw that that was not going to be possible, he joined a group of Serbs leaving Knin. That group was later attacked near Bosanski Petrovac by two Croatian bombers, the witness said.

The defense is due to cross-examine the witness today.

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