www.b92.net
UN observer recalls Knin carnage 10 June 2008 | 12:32 | Source: Tanjug ZAGREB -- The artillery onslaught of Knin on August 4 and 5, 1995, was unselective, says UN observer Peter Marti. Testifying at the trial of Croatian Army (HV) Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac at the Hague Tribunal, the UN observer said that there had been no military targets in Knin. The witness stated that he had seen destroyed civilian vehicles and clothes littered around the area, suggesting that civilians had been targeted. The Croatian government did not do enough to protect civilians and their property after Operation Storm, Marti said, adding that survivors had told UN peacekeepers that they were not safe, that no-one was protecting them, and that they just wanted to leave in safety. According to certain sources, around 150,000 and 200,000 Serbs fled Croatian forces in the direction of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. On August 7, 1995, EU Special Envoy for the Former Yugoslavia Carl Bildt described Storm as the "most efficient ethnic cleansing ever seen in the Balkans." Croatian forces also attacked Serb civilians and their property, and according to reports, a campaign of mass looting and destruction of Serb property was carried out. According to the Croatian Helsinki Committee, 677 Serbs were killed during the operation, while Serb sources put the figure at around 2,500. Marti said that that in villages in and around Knin, he had seen members of the HV who "looked more like pirates" and less like real soldiers, as well as looters who had robbed everything they could lay their hands on. Initially, they stole cars, TVs, washing machines, furniture, and later, windows, door frames and carpets, so that by the end, said Marti, nothing was left. The witness said that the he had warned Croatian authorities about the looting, but that they had only pretended to be responsible for the former Republic of Serb Krajina. Marti will be cross-examined today by the generals' defense teams. . <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=14871632/grpspId=1705043917/msgI d=34934/stime=1213101727/nc1=5028924/nc2=5170408/nc3=4836038> __,_._,___
