During the armed conflict in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Svetozar Andrić served as the commander of the 1st Birač Infantry Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), and, after July 1995, as the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Drina Corps of the VRS.
The evidence presented in this Dossier indicates that, from May 1992, when Andrić ordered the “expulsion of the Muslim population” from the Zvornik municipality and the establishment of the Sušica camp in Vlasenica1, members of the Birač Brigade, independently or in cooperation with other military and police units, committed numerous crimes in municipalities within the brigade’s zone of responsibility. The Dossier also presents evidence of Svetozar Andrić’s role in the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.
The First Birač Infantry Brigade participated in the forcible transfer, expulsion and deportation of the non-Serbian population from the municipalities of Zvornik, Vlasenica and Kalesija, the killing of civilians during the occupation of the territory, and the burning and destruction of villages.
Members of the Birač Brigade controlled the Sušica camp, along with other detention facilities within their area of responsibility, where detainees were physically and psychologically abused and killed. Women who were detained in these facilities were subjected to sexual violence.
As the commander of Birač Brigade, Svetozar Andrić participated in the preparation and carrying out of the attack on Srebrenica in July 1995. When the mass executions of the men of Srebrenica were carried out, Andrić, holding the rank of colonel, had been appointed Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Drina Corps VRS. Members of the Drina Corps took part in the executions, and the material resources and personnel of the corps were used to clean up the area and conceal the crimes by burying the victims in mass graves.
The Dossier is based on military and police documents accepted as evidence in several proceedings before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), witness statements and statements before international and national courts, newspaper articles and other relevant sources.
The “Svetozar Andrić” Dossier is available here.
