Atif Dudaković

Atif Dudaković (born 2 December 1953) is a former general in the Bosnian Army. During the Bosnian War, Dudaković was in command of the Bihać enclave, which was surrounded and besieged from 1991 to 1995, commanding the 5th Corps. After the war he became the general commander of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2018, he was charged with war crimes.

Atif Dudaković
Born (1953-12-02) 2 December 1953
Orahova, Yugoslavia
(now Orahova, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Allegiance Yugoslavia (1976–1992)[1]
 Bosnia and Herzegovina (after 1992)
Service/branchYugoslav People's Army (1976–1992)
Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina (after 1992)
RankMajor (Yugoslavia)
Lieutenant general (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Commands heldCommander of the 5th Corps
Battles/warsCroatian War of Independence
(Battle of Šibenik)
Bosnian War

Early life and education

Dudaković was born in the village of Orahova near Bosanska Gradiška. He served in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), teaching at an artillery school in Zadar and a military academy in Belgrade.

Career

In 1991, at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, he served as the artillery superintendent of the 9th Corps of the JNA with headquarters in Knin, and was directly subordinated to the Serb General Ratko Mladić. At this point he left the federal army.

After the outbreak of the war in Bosnia, Dudaković joined the newly established Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). Eventually he became commander of the 5th Corps, defending Bihać. The situation there was difficult as Bihać was surrounded on all sides by enemies of the ARBiH: by the Army of Republika Srpska; by Republic of Serb Krajina; and by forces of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, the renegade Bosniak forces of Fikret Abdić. The 5th Corps successfully defended the enclave and in 1995 broke out from the encirclement and captured the towns of Bosanski Petrovac, Bosanska Krupa, Ključ, Sanski Most and were on the verge of entering Prijedor and Banja Luka before the United States and NATO forced an end to the war.

After the war he continued to serve in the Bosnian army, holding the top positions of Deputy Chief of Joint General Staff of Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Commander of Joint Command of Army of the Federation.

Since 2005 he has been under investigation for war crimes allegedly committed against ethnic Serbs in 1995.

In September 2006, the Serbian television stations B92 and Radio Television of Serbia broadcast two video tapes one of which apparently shows Dudaković giving an order of "fire"[2] or "burn it all"[3] referring to a Serb village during Operation Sana in 1995.[4] After the video was released Dudaković gave a statement saying:

The Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina was never ordered to commit crimes. If such things happened, then there should be an investigation and the perpetrators punished. ... The film shows the front line. I was normally engaged on the front line directing the artillery. I am an artillery man. The film with its subtitles are the usual product of Serb propaganda which we came across throughout the war and later too. This is why I do not get excited.[2]

In 2010, he joined the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina of Haris Silajdžić.

War crimes charges

In April 2018, police detained Atif Dudaković and 12 others on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity during the Bosnian war. All were members of the Bosnian army's 5th Corps, which under Dudaković's leadership was in charge of the Bihac area. They were suspected of having carried out atrocities against civilians including ethnic Serbs and Bosniaks, who were loyal to other Bosnian leaders, and prisoners during the war. The case against them was based on more than 100 witness interviews, video footage and evidence from exhumations.[5] Bosniaks rallied in Sarajevo, carried a large banner reading "Heroes, not criminals!", to express their support to them.[6] Dudaković and the others are accused of killing over 300 civilians and the destruction of 38 Serb Orthodox churches.[7] In October 2018, Dudaković was formally indicted for crimes against humanity.[8]

Military ranks

JNA

  • Major (1988)

ARBiH

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References
  1. "Atif Dudakovic (Dudaković)". vojska. 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
  2. interview with General Atif Dudakovic (15 September 2006). "We needed Operation Storm as much as Croatia did". Bosnia Report i. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  3. "Serbs see new 'war crimes' tape". BBC News. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  4. "Snimak neće biti dokaz u Hagu" (in Serbian). B92. 8 August 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  5. Ex-Bosnian army commander Atif Dudakovic arrested on war crimes charges
  6. Supporters of war crimes suspect Atif Dudakovic rally in Sarajevo
  7. http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bosnian-court-confirms-general-dudakovic-indictment-10-24-2018
  8. Associated Press (11 October 2018). "Ex-Bosnia army commander, 16 others charges with war crimes". Washington Times.
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