Radislav Krstić (; born 15 February 1948) is a former Bosnian Serb Deputy Commander and later Chief of Staff of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (the "Bosnian Serb army") from October 1994 until 12 July 1995. He was promoted to the rank of major general in June 1995 and assumed command of the Drina Corps on 13 July 1995.ICTY official site: CASE INFORMATION SHEET: RADISLAV KRSTIĆ
In 1998 Krstić was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague in connection with the genocide of around 8,000 Bosniak prisoners of war and civilians on 11 July 1995 during the Srebrenica massacre.The Telegraph: "Radislav Krstic: Serbian war criminal attacked in British jail", The Telegraph, 8:30AM BST 8 May 2010 On 2 August 2001, Krstić became the first man convicted of genocide by the Tribunal, and was sentenced to 46 years in prison. He was only the third person ever to have been convicted under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The sentence was subsequently shortened to 35 years in prison when an appeal court upheld a lesser charge for aiding and abetting genocide.
Early life and education Krstić was born in Vlasenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He attended primary school in Vlasenica and elementary school in Han Pijesak, where he also completed his secondary education in a grammar school. Krstić describes his young years as very peaceful, and the community in which he lived as "heterogeneous" and very tolerant, particularly among the youth.ICTY official site: "Trial of Radislav Krstić Transcript", icty.org, 16 October 2000.
In 1968, upon completion of his secondary education, he began his university education by enrolling in the military academy in Belgrade. He graduated in 1972, whereupon he became an active duty officer of the former JNA.
Personal life Krstić is married and has a son Dobroslav and daughter Djerdana.
Career According to testimony during his trial, Krstić was first assigned to the Sarajevo garrison from 1972 to 1981, where he attended secondary military school at a hub called "Josip Broz Tito". His first assignment was a platoon commander at this secondary military school. He was also a company commander, and was head of his class during his graduating year. Krstić remembers Sarajevo as being unique in Yugoslavia due to its spirit of unity amongst the ethnically diverse population.
Krstić's tour of duty in Sarajevo ended in 1981 when he was posted to the general staff of the Military Academy of Serbia. While this assignment was very sought after by career-minded military officers, Krstić insisted that his family remain in Sarajevo, in the hopes that he might be reassigned there. Upon completion of his education in 1983, however, he was assigned to Negotin, a small town positioned on the borders of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania.
In mid-1986, Krstić was reassigned to Priština, in Kosovo, where he was placed in charge of training officers and units in the Priština corps. Due to the unrest that had begun brewing in that region, he was posted to Kosovska Mitrovica in early 1987 as Chief of Staff of the Motorised Brigade. He remained at that post until 1990 when he took over as the brigade commander of that garrison.
Role in the Yugoslav wars
Joining the VRS In mid-1992, after Bosnia proclaimed independence, Krstić decided that, rather than trying to find a place in this new Yugoslavia, he would return to Bosnia as he was born in Bosnia and considered himself to be a citizen of Bosnia. He stayed with his family in Han Pijesak for a short time, and in June 1992, with the Bosnian War already in full swing, he reported to the Han Pijesak garrison and joined the Army of Republika Srpska. He was immediately assigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel to the post of the Commander of the 2nd Romanija Motorized Brigade, which was located in the Sokolac garrison. This brigade was a new experience for Krstić, as it was ethnically homogenous; composed only of ethnic Serbs from the Sokolac municipality, Olovo and Kladanj municipalities, and of the refugees from the Zenica, Kakanj, Breza, and Vareš municipalities.
Early engagements Krstić initially faced problems with command and control due to the inexperience of the officers in the brigade command and their subordinate units. However, the situation rapidly improved, and in October of the same year, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. On the Serbian Orthodox holiday of St. Ilija's Day in August 1993, behind the positions of Krstić's units that were engaged in the front line in the area of Kladanj, there was a synchronised infiltration of Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the villages in the territory of the Han Pijesak municipality, such as Žerovice, Rijeka, and Potkosovaca were destroyed and most of their inhabitants killed. In late April of the following year there was a significant effort by the Eastern Bosnia Corps to break through the Kladanj front to capture Vlasenica and link up from the direction of Kladanj with the forces within the protected area of Žepa. The offensive lasted for about 20 days, and it was crushed on 20 May 1994.
UN "Safe Area" warnings On 15 August 1994, Krstić was appointed Chief of Staff of the Drina Corps. Krstić worked with his replacement to familiarize him with his roles and function until 1 September, and then worked with the former Chief of Staff whom he would be replacing to learn his new post until 28 September. He was then briefed about Bosnian operations coming from the direction of Tuzla, Živinice, Kladanj, and Olovo against Serbian civilians. His predecessor also briefed him and told him that, despite the status of the safe area accorded to Srebrenica and Žepa and the obligations stemming from agreements on demilitarization, the forces of the 28th Mountain Division of the Eastern Bosnia Corps in Srebrenica and Žepa were, in fact procuring from Tuzla and Kladanj or directly from Sarajevo more weapons in addition to the light or infantry weapons they already had.
There were numerous reports from Serb intelligence sources of the BiH Army troop movements in and out of protected enclaves carrying arms, reconnoitering Serb positions, and other military actions against Tuzla, Živinice, and Kladanj, all using UN protectorates as a base of operations in the region and operating under the radar so as to avoid notice by UNPROFOR. Krstić stayed at his post at the Corps Command until 1 November 1994, whereupon he established a brigade which was deployed at the area of the Herzegovinian Corps to combat the offensive which was mounted by the Eastern Bosnia Corps from the area of Bjelašnica and Igman towards Treskavica and Trnovo. He remained in the area of Treskavica and Trnovo until mid-December 1994, whereupon he returned to his post as the commander of the Corps in Vlasenica.
He was again briefed about the situation with respect to operations that the Bosniak command of the 28th Division in Srebrenica, acting upon orders from the Main Staff of the 2nd Corps in Tuzla, was conducting towards the positions of the Drina Corps, in particular, at the Milici municipality, Han Pijesak, and the Vlasenica municipality. He was also briefed about intel on the continuation of the army, weapons and ammunitions supply to the members of the 28th Brigade at the protected area. They began intercepting communications indicating an attempt by the BiH Army to conduct supply chain operations from Tuzla to link up with their forces in Srebrenica in an operation named "Skakavac" (grasshopper).
Landmine injury On 29 December 1994, while inspecting force deployment at Kladanj and Olovo, Krstić stepped on a landmine and was seriously wounded. He was taken to a military hospital in Sokolac where, on 3 January, his right leg below his knee was amputated. He stayed in the military hospital in Meljine until the end of March 1995 when he was transferred to the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade, where he remained until the end of April 1995. He was discharged from the military hospital at his request and stayed for a couple of days with his family in Kosovska Mitrovica, before returning to Bosnia with his wife to report to his doctors in Sokolac and Vlasenica for further treatment. He underwent therapy alternately in Sokolac and Vlasenica until the middle of May 1995, when he returned to his official post.ICTY official site: "Trial of Radislav Krstić Transcript", 17 October 2000
The Bosnian Army offensive Upon returning to his official duties, Krstić was again briefed that activity by Bosnian Muslim forces between Tuzla and the UN protectorates was increasing, and Serb forces were suffering heavy losses to infiltrators. Serb intelligence reported that, despite a no-fly order on much of the area, BiH military helicopters were landing in protected areas daily with munitions and supplies. Noting the buildup toward a major offensive by the BiH Army, the Drina Corps began preparations for a counter-offensive.
On 15 June 1995, forces of the 2nd Corps of the BiH Army launched simultaneous offensives against the 1st Brčanska Brigade, the 1st Zvornik Infantry Brigade, and the 1st Vlasenica Brigade along the Tuzla-Zvornik and Kladanj-Vlasenica axes.ICTY official site: "Trial of Radislav Krstić Transcript", 18 October 2000 There were casualties suffered on both sides, but the Drina Corps made territorial gains in the Kalesija and Osmaci municipalities, and after four days of fighting, the 2nd Corps were driven back to their original positions. The Eastern Bosnia Corps then concentrated their forces on the Tuzla-Zvornik axis, however, and after establishing a bridgehead on the Spreča River, they broke through Serb lines and destroyed the villages of Markovica, much of Osmaca, and the entire village of Zelena. The 28th Division of the 2nd Corps then occupied the villages of Višnjica and Rječice, where they attacked the VRS Main Staff from the direction of Banja Lučica and Krivace. This territory was held until 26 June, when the Drina Corps fortified their defenses and managed to halt and then repel the BiH Army back to their initial positions.
Operation Krivaja 95 Since the UN-protected enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa were never demilitarized, and that they hid what amounted to "five or six brigades" of BiH Army troops and weapons, the VRS Main Staff ordered the Drina Corps Command to undertake an operation codenamed Krivaja 95. This was in response to a 8 March 1995 directive from the Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadžić himself (although it is believed that Krstić was a co-planner), ordering that "The Command of the Drina Corps, pursuant to operations directive number 7 and 7/1 of the GS VRS, and on the basis of the situation in the Corps area of responsibility, has the task of carrying out offensive activities with free forces deep in the Drina Corps zone, as soon as possible, in order to split apart the enclaves of Žepa and Srebrenica, and to reduce them to their urban areas."ICTY official site: "Trial of Radislav Krstić Transcript", 25 October 2000" The directive went on to detail the need to "complete the physical separation of the Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves as soon as possible, preventing even communication between individuals between the two enclaves. By planned and well-thought-out combat operations, create an unbearable situation of total insecurity, with no hope of further survival or life for the inhabitants of Srebrenica or Žepa.ICTY official site: "ICTY Prosecution Indictment Against Zdravko Tolimir, Radivoje Miletić and Milan Gvero"