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The 7th Muslim Brigade (Bosnian: Sedma muslimanska brigada) was a brigade in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). It was often misinterpreted by Serb and Croat media, which confused it with the squad of Arab volunteers known as El-Mudžahid - foreign fighters from various Islamic countries that fought during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. The 7th brigade had over 1,000 local soldiers and was a part of the 3rd corps of the Bosnian Army. The El-Mudžahid was an independent detachment.^[1]

Background

During the Yugoslav wars, Bosnia-Herzegovina received humanitarian aid from Islamic countries as well as from the West, because of intensive and widespread killing, mass rapes, death camps, ethnic cleansing committed by Serb and, to a lesser extent, Croat forces. The main targets were Bosnian Muslim civilians. The world's highest court concluded that these crimes, committed during the 1992 -95 war, were crimes against humanity and genocide (dolus specialis) regarding Srebrenica region according to the Genocide Convention.^[2]

Following such massacres, Arab volunteers came across Croatia into Bosnia to help the Bosnian Army protect the Bosnian Muslim civilian population. The number of the El-Mudžahid volunteers is still disputed, from around 300 ^{[3] [4]} to 1,500.^[3] These caused particular controversy: foreign fighters, styling themselves mujahiddin, turned up in Bosnia around 1993 with Croatian identity documents, passports and IDs. They quickly attracted heavy criticism, who considered their presence to be evidence of violent Islamic fundamentalism at the heart of Europe. However, the foreign volunteers became unpopular even with many of the Bosniak population, because the Bosnian army had thousands of troops and had no need for more soldiers, but for arms. Many Bosnian Army officers and intellectuals were suspicious regarding foreign volunteers arrival in central part of the country, because they came from Split and Zagreb in Croatia, and were passed through the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia without problems unlike Bosnian Army soldiers who were regularly arrested by Croat forces. According to general Stjepan Šiber, the highest ranking ethnic Croat in Bosnian Army, the key role in foreign volunteers arrival was played by Franjo Tuđman and Croatian counter-intelligence underground with the aim to justify involvement of Croatia in Bosnian War and mass crimes committed by Croat forces. Although Izetbegović regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability. ^[4]

Controversy

Although Serb and Croat media created much controversy about alleged war crimes committed by the squad, no indictment was issued by ICTY against any of these foreign volunteers. The only foreign person convicted of war crimes was Swedish neo-nazi Jackie Arklov, who fought in the Croatian army (first convicted by a Bosnian court, later by a Swedish court).

According to Predrag Matvejević, a notable Italian and Croatian modern prosaist who analyzed the situation, the number of Arab volunteers who came to help the Bosnian Muslims, was much smaller than the number presented by Serb and Croat propaganda. ^[4]

According to the ICTY verdicts, Serb propaganda was very active, constantly propagated false information about the foreign fighters in order to inflame anti-muslim hatred among Serbs. After the takeover of Prijedor by Serb forces in 1992, Radio Prijedor propagated Serb nationalistic ideas characterising prominent non-Serbs as criminals and extremists who should be punished for their behaviour. One example of such propaganda was the derogatory language used for referring to non-Serbs such as mujahedin, Ustasa or Green Berets, although at the time there were no foreign volunteers in Bosnia. Both the printed and broadcast media also spread what can be only considered as blatant lies according to ICTY conclusion about non-Serb doctors: Dr. Mirsad Mujadžić of the Bosniak politicians was accused of injecting drugs into Serb women making them incapable of giving birth to male children and Dr. Željko Sikora, a Croat, referred to as the Monster Doctor, was accused of making Serb women abort if they were pregnant with male children and of castrating the male babies of Serbian parents. Moreover, in a "Kozarski Vjesnik" article dated June 10, 1992, Dr. Osman Mahmuljin was accused of deliberately having provided incorrect medical care to his Serb colleague Dr. Živko Dukić, who had a heart attack. Dr. Dukić’s life was saved only because Dr. Radojka Elenkov discontinued the therapy allegedly initiated by Dr. Mahmuljin. The appeals were broadcast aimed at the Serbs to lynch the non-Serbs. Moreover, forged biographies of prominent non-Serbs, including Prof. Muhamed Ćehajić, Mr. Crnalić, Dr. Eso Sadiković and Dr. Osman Mahmuljin, were broadcast. According to ICTY conclusion in Stakić verdict Mile Mutić, the director of Kozarski Vjesnik and the journalist Rade Mutić regularly attended meetings of Serb politicians (local authorities) in order to get informed about next steps of spreading propaganda. ^{[5] [6]}

Another example of propaganda about Islamic holy warriors is presented in the ICTY Kordić and Čerkez verdict for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia leadership on Bosniak civilians. Gornji Vakuf was attacked by Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defence Forces (HVO) in January 1993 followed by heavy shelling of the town by Croat artillery. During cease-fire negotiations at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, colonel Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded that the Bosnian forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. ^{[7][8 ]} The HVO demands were not accepted by the Bosnian Army and the attack continued, followed by massacres on Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica. ^[9][10] The shelling campaign and the attackes during the war resulted in houndreds of injured and killed, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians. Although Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf in order to justify attacks and massacres on civilians, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that there were no Muslim holy worriors in Gornji Vakuf and that his soldiers did not see any. ^[7]

See also

• Bosnian War
• Bosnian Mujahideen
• Mujahideen
• Role of foreign fighters in the Bosnian War

Notes

• (ICTY conclusion) The evidence shows that foreign volunteers arrived in central Bosnia in the second half of 1992 with the aim of helping their Muslim brothers against the Serbian aggressors. Mostly they came from North Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. The foreign volunteers differed considerably from the local population, not only because of their physical appearance and the language they spoke, but also because of their fighting methods. Initially, the foreign volunteers gave food and other basic necessities to the local Muslim population. Once hostilities broke out between the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the HVO (Croat forces), they also participated in battles against the HVO alongside Army of BiH units. ^[11]

References

1. ^ ICTY: Arab volunteers not part of Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. ^ ICJ: Serbia found guilty of failure to prevent and punish genocide
3. ^ ^{a b} SENSE Tribunal:ICTY - WE FOUGHT WITH THE BH ARMY, BUT NOT UNDER ITS COMMAND [1]
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Predrag Matvejević analysis". http://www.islam.co.ba/razmisljanja/index.php?subaction=ostalo&id=1070747643.  
5. ^ "ICTY: Milomir Stakić judgement - The media". http://www.un.org/icty/stakic/trialc/judgement/sta-tj030731e.htm#ID2di.  
6. ^ "ICTY: Duško Tadić judgement - Greater Serbia". http://www.un.org/icty/tadic/trialc2/judgement/tad-tj970507e.htm#_Toc387417236.  
7. ^ ^{a b} "ICTY: Kordić and Čerkez verdict - IV. Attacks on towns and villages: killings - 2. The Conflict in Gornji Vakuf". http://www.un.org/icty/kordic/trialc/judgement/kor-tj010226e-5.htm#IVA2.  
8. ^ "SENSE Tribunal: Poziv na predaju". http://www.sense-agency.com/ba/stream.php?sta=3&pid=8670&kat=6.  
9. ^ "SENSE Tribunal: Ko je počeo rat u Gornjem Vakufu". http://www.sense-agency.com/ba/stream.php?sta=3&pid=8652&kat=6.  
10. ^ "SENSE Tribunal: "James Dean" u Gornjem Vakufu". http://www.sense-agency.com/ba/stream.php?sta=3&pid=8662&kat=6.  
11. ^ ICTY: Summary of the judgement for Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura

External links

• Radio Free Europe (Vlado Azinović): Dolazak stranih mudžahedina u BiH (Bosnian)
• Radio Free Europe (Vlado Azinović): Strani mudžahedini i Armija Bosne i Hercegovine (Bosnian)
• Sažetak presude u Predmetu Hadžihasanović i Kubura (Bosnian)
• Sky News: Mujahideen who settled in BiH
• "'Brutal crimes' of Bosnia Muslims" BBC News, 2 December, 2003.
• "Mujahideen fight Bosnia evictions" by Alix Kroeger, BBC News, 18 July, 2000.