Tuzla Massacre



The Tuzla Massacre was a massacre of civilians committed on 25 May 1995 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The massacre
Between 25 May and 28 May 1995 a number of artillery projectiles were fired at Tuzla from Army of Republika Srpska positions near the village of Panjik on Mount Ozren some 25 km west of Tuzla. On 25 May 1995 (Marshall Tito's birthday and Relay of Youth in former Yugoslavia) at 20:55 hours, a shrapnel shell fired by a 130mm towed artillery piece, detonated in the part of the city called Kapija. There were 71 people killed and 240 wounded. All of the victims were civilians and the majority were between the ages of 18-25.

War crime verdict
Novak Đukić, a former Army of Republika Srpska officer was arrested in Banja Luka on 7 November 2007. At the time of the Tuzla massacre Đukić was the commander of the Tactical Group Ozren of the VRS. His trial began on 11 March 2008. On 12 June 2009, Đukić was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.

Denial
In 2009, the prime minister of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, stated that the attack was staged and questioned the Markale massacres at Sarajevo. The Tuzla municipality filed charges against Dodik over these statements. The city of Sarajevo filed criminal charges against Dodik for abuse of power, and inciting ethnic, racial and religious hatred.

The Office of the High Representative said Dodik denied the war crimes committed and stated that "When such skewed facts come from an official in a position of high responsibility, an official who is obliged to uphold the Dayton Peace Accords and cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, then they are particularly irresponsible and undermine not only the institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law, but the credibility of the individual himself".