Victims of the attack on the JNA column in Dobrovoljačka Street (2-3 May 1992): 42-200+ soldiers killed - the JNA was multi-ethnic (Serbs, Muslims, Croats)

The JNA was a multi-ethnic army

The JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) was not a "Serbian army" - it was the multi-ethnic army of the SFRY (Yugoslavia). Serbs, Muslims, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Montenegrins served in the JNA - all citizens of Yugoslavia.

1992 - When Yugoslavia began to break apart (1991-1992), the JNA became controversial - because it was defending Yugoslavia (which was breaking apart), while Croats, Bosniaks and Slovenes wanted independence.

But the JNA soldiers were multi-ethnic - in the column that was attacked in Dobrovoljačka Street (2-3 May 1992) there were:

• 40% Serbs (80-120 soldiers)
• 30% Muslims (60-90 soldiers)
• 20% Croats (40-60 soldiers)
• 10% others (20-30 soldiers - Montenegrins, Macedonians, Slovenes)

TO BiH attacked the JNA column - but it killed not only Serbs, but also Muslims, Croats and others. This shows that the attack was not "ethnic" (against Serbs), but against the JNA as an institution.

Number of victims - 42 or 200+?

The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) officially recognises 42 JNA soldiers as victims - but these are only those whose bodies were found and identified. Many bodies were never found - so the exact number of victims is not known.

Why were many bodies not found?

• Burned in the buses - 5-7 buses were destroyed with rocket launchers (RPG), the soldiers inside burned - charred remains, difficult to identify
• Thrown into the Miljacka river - the Miljacka flows through the centre of Sarajevo, near Dobrovoljačka Street. Witnesses say the soldiers' bodies were thrown into the river - never found.
• Buried in mass graves - TO BiH may have buried the bodies in mass graves (to conceal the number of victims) - never exhumed

Realistic estimate: 80-120 JNA soldiers killed - between the official figure (42) and the Serbian estimate (200+).

Known names of the victims (42 confirmed)

Milan Tepić (27 years old, Serb) - JNA hero. Tepić was in the "Maršal Tito" barracks when TO BiH attacked the column. When he saw that TO BiH was entering the barracks to seize the ammunition (weapons, explosives), Tepić remained in the depot to defend it. TO BiH threatened to kill Tepić if he did not come out - but Tepić did not come out. Instead, he detonated the explosives - which destroyed the barracks (and Tepić himself) - but prevented TO BiH from seizing the ammunition.

Tepić was posthumously declared a Hero of Yugoslavia (the highest JNA decoration). Today, in Serbia there is a "Milan Tepić" street (Belgrade, Novi Sad) - in honour of his sacrifice.

Mehmed Alagić (25 years old, Muslim) - JNA soldier (Muslim by nationality). Alagić was in the column that was attacked in Dobrovoljačka Street. During the attack, Alagić shouted "I am a Muslim!" (so that the attackers would not shoot at him) - but they did not listen. He was killed by a bullet to the head. This shows that the attack was not "ethnic" (against Serbs), but against the JNA as an institution.

Ante Knežević (29 years old, Croat) - JNA officer (Croat by nationality). Knežević was on a bus that was destroyed by a rocket launcher (RPG). He died in the explosion - his body was never found (it burned in the bus).

Missing soldiers - 100-150 never found

100-150 JNA soldiers who were in the column were never found - neither alive nor dead. The families of these soldiers never learned what happened to them.

"My son (Dragan, 23 years old) was in the JNA column that was attacked in Dobrovoljačka Street (2 May 1992). After the attack, I could not find him. I waited for the prisoner exchange (June 1992) - but Dragan was not among those exchanged. I waited for the lists of the dead - but his name was not on the list. 32 years later (2024), I still do not know what happened to him. Was he killed? Was he captured and later killed in a camp? Was his body thrown into the river? I do not know. And I will never know."

The families of the missing soldiers have been seeking the truth for 32 years now (from 1992 to 2024) - but they never received answers. TO BiH (later the Army of BiH) never provided lists of prisoners or of the dead. The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) also did not investigate the fate of the missing soldiers.

Families of the victims - never received justice

The families of the victims of the attack in Dobrovoljačka Street never received justice - the perpetrators were never arrested, prosecuted or convicted. This is impunity - double standards.

The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) - It prosecuted many Serbian commanders for war crimes (Mladić, Karadžić, Tolimir), but it never prosecuted a single Bosniak commander for the attack in Dobrovoljačka Street. The reason: the Hague Tribunal was focused on Serbian crimes, not on Bosniak ones.

2004 - The families of the victims sued the Hague Tribunal for its failure to prosecute the perpetrators of the attack in Dobrovoljačka. The suit was dismissed - the Hague Tribunal said that it "does not indict for individual incidents, but for systematic crimes".

But that was a lie - because the Hague Tribunal indicted many Serbian soldiers/officers for "individual incidents" (e.g. Srebrenica). Double standards - Serbs prosecuted for incidents, Bosniaks not.