Višegrad massacres
| Višegrad massacres | |
|---|---|
'The Bridge on the Drina', Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, Višegrad, a scene of slaughter of Bosniak civilians. | |
| Location | Višegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Coordinates | 43°46′58″N 19°17′28″E / 43.78278°N 19.29111°E |
| Date | 1992 |
| Target | Bosniaks |
Attack type | Ethnic cleansing, mass murder |
| Deaths | 1,000 to 3,000 |
| Perpetrators | Army of the Republika Srpska, Višegrad Brigade |
| Motive | Anti-Bosniak sentiment, Serbianisation, Greater Serbia |
The Višegrad massacres were acts of mass murder committed against the Bosniak civilian population of the town and municipality of Višegrad during the ethnic cleansing of eastern Bosnia by Republika Srpska police and military forces during the spring and summer of 1992, at the start of the Bosnian War.
According to documents of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based on the victims reports, some 3,000 Bosniaks were murdered during the violence in Višegrad and its surroundings, including some 600 women and 119 children. According to the ICTY, Višegrad was subjected to "one of the most comprehensive and ruthless campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian conflict". According to the Research and Documentation Center, 1661 Bosniaks (both soldiers and civilians) were killed or missing in Višegrad.
The viciousness of the crimes of violence committed by the Army of Republika Srpska in the Višegrad massacres and the effectiveness with which the town's entire Bosniak population was either killed or deported by Republika Srpska forces in 1992, long before similar events in Srebrenica, have been described as epitomising the genocide of the Bosniak population of eastern Bosnia carried out on orders from the Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and his military counterpart General Ratko Mladić.