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To: Snapple
The Muslims did not turn in their weapons: they only left their HEAVY weapons in UN storage as they were not conducive to a quick, secretive escape from Srebrenica to Muslim held territory.

Many of them arrived in Tuzla armed, and there were actually a few shoot-outs between them because some felt the leadership had given up Srebrenica - which it did.

Naser Oric and the top leadership, around 17 men, had left 3 months before, in April, and they never even bothered coming back. The town was obviously decided to go to Serbs for some time after the "fall".

There is a book, entitled "Srebrenica Survivors in St. Louis: After the Fall", which has quotes from an extended family, living in St. Louis, circa 1999. Some of the "survivors" are men who were in the army (about 3 of them). All of them say they were told by the acting commander to gather in the city (which meant they had to leave their fortified defenses), while he and the UN told the women and children to head for the UN base at Potocari. This, even before the Serbs got to the city and were still on the outskirts. Serbs started forward after the Muslims launched attacks and ambushes, likely for the set purpose to have the Serbs come. The Serbs were surprised at the lack of resistance on the way to the city.

The Muslim army in Srebrenica was claimed to be in the range of 8,000 - 12,000. The Serb army in the area 1,000 - 2,000 - NO WAY the Serbs could have captured that city, with Muslims in a defensive position, much larger, with Iranian arms. The Dutch Srebrenica report said Iranian arms brought to Sarajevo quickly showed up in Srebrenica.

15 posted on 11/10/2004 9:05:37 PM PST by joan
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These are quotes of a former Srebrenica soldier, Hamil Becirovic, from the book I mention above:

"Srebrenica's fall was very sudden. We were in our village when the attack began. There were strong points, strong defenses all around...

Around 7:30 in the evening, we got the news that women and children should go in one direction and that men should go in another direction because of the possibility of attack.

The order came from the brigade commander in Srebrenica and people followed that direction... About 11:15 P.M., the men started to get together and we went to a nearby village where the men were also gathering, I was with my family, friends, and neighbors. At one point, there were, I think, something like eighteen thousands men together in that one place...

People started leaving about 1:00 A.M. It wasn't our time to go until about 6:00 A.M....

We crossed the Serb line and it immediately became more difficult because we were in their territory...

The first attack came in Sitkovici...

I arrived in Tuzla on the seventh day...

I found my wife and child at the airport in Tuzla...


My comments: The bulk of the separation of men from children was accomplished before the Serbs came, and done by orders of the acting commander (Bosnian Muslim) and the UN. Hamil Becirovic's estimation of 18,000 men gathered in a village is higher than most which usually range from 12,000 to 15,000. However, this shows that that many men had separated themselves, and the women had gone to the UN base by the thousands.

By the time the Serbs got there, only a small percentage of men or youths who didn't follow the orders would be at the UN base.

This soldier was puzzled, as were they others. He said: there were strong points, strong defenses all around. He was one of those soldiers who seemed to have left his position to gather in a "nearby village". No mention of Serbs being there as they gathered. No Serbs mentioned as arriving as they waited from 1:00 a.m - 6:00 a.m. to leave (the number of men was so large they had to leave in shifts). No mention of them encountering fighting with the Serbs until they "crossed the Serb line".

22 posted on 11/10/2004 9:24:03 PM PST by joan
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