Distr. GENERAL A/50/390/Add.1 29 August 1995 ENGLISH Original: ENGLISH/FRENCH/SPANISH

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of the use of mercenaries has received a letter from the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia dated 21 December 1994; a letter from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia dated 30 June 1995, and a letter from the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to the United Nations Office at Geneva dated 14 July 1995. These documents are reproduced as annexes to this report.

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* A/50/150.

"The Government of the Republic of Armenia has received your communication requesting the Republic of Armenia's position on the use of mercenaries in the conflict between Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia is aware of the considerable importance of prohibiting the use of mercenaries in armed conflicts and fully supports General Assembly resolutions 2395 (XXIII) of 29 November 1968; 2465 (XXIII) of 20 December 1968; 2548 (XXIV) of 11 December 1969; 2708 (XXV) of 14 December 1970 and 3103 (XXVIII) of 12 December 1973, as well as Security Council resolutions 405 (1977) of 14 April 1977; 419 (1977) of 24 November 1977; 496 (1981) of 15 December 1981 and 507 (1982) of 28 May 1982 in which the United Nations denounces the practice of using mercenaries. In addition, the Government of the Republic of Armenia is examining the possibility of ratifying the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.

Like the great majority of the international community, the Republic of Armenia considers that the use of mercenaries in armed conflicts is contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, namely the principle of equality of States and the principles of territorial integrity and political independence, and seriously jeopardizes the realization of the principle of self-determination.

Unfortunately, the principles of international law are often violated by States that wish to dominate other peoples or States. The Nagorny Karabakh region is an area where the fundamental principles of international law have frequently been and continue to be ignored by the Azerbaijani Republic. The use of mercenaries is part of a long list of principles that have been violated by Azerbaijan.

We hereby wish to submit information to you concerning the use of mercenaries in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict in order to give you an unbiased and objective picture of the situation.

The Nagorny Karabakh conflict, in which the principal parties are Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan, has been going on for six years and has claimed the lives of several hundred persons. The conflict began after the Armenian majority in the Nagorny Karabakh Autonomous Region, using the legal machinery provided under the Constitution of the former USSR, expressed their desire for independence through a popular referendum with a view to fully exercising their civil, economic, political and cultural rights. The Azerbaijani authorities chose to settle this conflict of self-determination militarily, confident as they were of their numerical superiority (the population of Azerbaijan being approximately 7 million and that of Nagorny Karabakh being 150,000).

Parallel to the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, Azerbaijan attempted to involve the Republic of Armenia by bombing its border regions and circulating dubious claims of aggression perpetrated by the Republic of Armenia against the Azerbaijani Republic, and of the use of mercenaries in the pay of either the Armenian Government or the diaspora. Resolutions of the Security Council and decisions of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) have proved that Armenia is not one of the principal parties to the conflict. This information was put about mainly in an attempt to conceal the systematic use of mercenaries by the Azerbaijani Republic, which, realizing that the Nagorny Karabakh Self-Defence Forces might win, decided to hire mercenaries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Turkey and Afghanistan.

These mercenaries and soldiers of the armed forces of the Azerbaijani Republic have committed atrocities and crimes which fall into the category of crimes against humanity, but we believe that it is more appropriate to focus on the use of mercenaries.

1. The alleged use of mercenaries by the authorities in Nagorny Karabakh

The term 'mercenary' is defined in article 47 of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. According to this article, a mercenary is an individual recruited to fight in an armed conflict; he is directly involved in that conflict; his motives are primarily financial and the material compensation which he receives is greater than that of combatants of the same rank from one of the parties to the conflict; he is neither a national of one of the parties to the conflict, nor is he resident in the territory controlled by the members of the armed forces of one of the parties to the conflict; finally, he has not been sent by a third State as a member of its armed forces.

According to this definition, the majority of combatants referred to in the letter from the Government of the Azerbaijani Republic do not fall within the category of mercenaries. Armenians throughout the world are not indifferent to the sufferings of their compatriots and some have even taken up arms in order to fight voluntarily alongside the Nagorny Karabakh Self-Defence Forces. They cannot be considered mercenaries for the following reasons:

- They have not been recruited by the authorities in Nagorny Karabakh or indeed by any authority; they came to fight of their own free will;

- Their motives are purely patriotic rather than financial;

- They are ethnic Armenians like the population of Nagorny Karabakh.

By listing the nationalities of these individuals instead of mentioning their ethnic origin, the Azerbaijani authorities are attempting to portray them as mercenaries.

2. The use of mercenaries by the Azerbaijani Republic

Mercenaries have been used by the armed forces of the Azerbaijani Republic since 1991. These mercenaries fall into two categories, those originating from CIS States and those from other States.

Mercenaries originating from CIS States have been incorporated into the Azerbaijani armed forces in special units comprised of foreign nationals. Russians have frequently been recruited by the Russian military recruitment services and dispatched to Baku. They are paid approximately 500,000 roubles, half of which is payable in dollars. These mercenaries arrived in Baku in several batches on different dates: a group of 70 arrived in 1992 and a group of 150 arrived in 1993. However, it is fairly difficult to determine the exact number since some of them have returned home, deserted or been killed.

Regarding nationals of other States serving as mercenaries in Azerbaijan, they are mainly from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. They are paid between $700 and $1,000 a month depending on their area of expertise. Military pilots are paid $5,000 for each successful sortie.

The mercenaries are stationed in different military units in the following regions:

- Djitanov Region, village of Tolipar;

- Shamkhor Region, settlement of Selful;

- Between Kucho and Mingechaur Regions;

- The town of Ali-Bayram.

The mercenaries are mainly serving in:

- The 860th and 723rd motorized brigades;

- The air force;

- The artillery;

- The secret services.

The Afghan mujahidin are the most heavily involved in the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh. Having engaged the armed forces of the former USSR in Afghanistan, they are best trained to fight against combatants from the former USSR. They are thought to number 3,000, are fairly well organized and carry out special tasks including punitive operations against Azerbaijani combatants who have deserted the front lines.

Since 1991, 12 mercenaries have been captured in the Nagorny Karabakh region, the Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijani Republic, namely:

- Oleg Aleksei Bilibengo, Ukrainian national;

- Aleksei Dimitri Suslo, Ukrainian national;

- Kamzad Murat oglu Beldurov, Russian national, originally from Chechnya;

- Movla Movladi oglu Abasov, Russian national, originally from Chechnya;

- Egor Dimitri Ivanov, Russian national;

- Anatoli Giorgi Chistyagov, Latvian national;

- Yuri Viktor Belichenko, Ukrainian national;

- Marat Ichgnei Ichgneiev, Kyrgyz national;

- Sergey Aleksandr Shanukhin, Russian national;

- Bakhtiar Verbole Baberzai, Afghan national;

- Yumak Atilla Hamdioglu, Turkish national;

- Amir Ibrahimli Buluk Abat, Iranian national.

More detailed information about these mercenaries is included at the end of this communication.

In addition to these mercenaries, Western diplomats based in Baku have repeatedly reported the presence of officers from the United States of America and Turkey who have been recruited to train Azerbaijani military forces. While the former are often paid by American oil companies, the Turkish officers are recruited in Turkey and paid for by Turkey or Azerbaijan. In accordance with the definition used in international humanitarian law, these individuals are not directly involved in the conflict and cannot be considered mercenaries. However, they satisfy all the other criteria and in modern-day conflicts, where technology enables damage to be inflicted from a much greater distance, it is fairly difficult to define 'involvement in conflicts'. Thus, in some cases, even these training officers could be considered mercenaries.

The use of mercenaries by the Azerbaijani Republic has also been reported in a number of newspaper articles. Some of these are worth mentioning:

- The Washington Post of 12 March 1994 notes that '1,000 Afghans have passed their first test in the Zangelan offensive near the Iranian border';

- The Washington Post of 20 April 1994 describes the Azerbaijani army as including mercenaries from Afghanistan, Iran, the United States, Russia and Turkey. The Baku-based journalist who wrote the article states that, according to Western diplomats, the republic had hired 1,000 Afghan mujahidin in 1993. In addition, Turkey and Iran were reportedly providing Baku with military training personnel, not forgetting the 200 Russian army officers who taught the Azerbaijanis basic combat methods in the north-west of Barda in November 1992;

- In an article in the Spring 1994 issue of Covert Action Quarterly, A. Rowell analyses the involvement of foreign citizens in the Azerbaijani armed forces. After mentioning that American and Iranian nationals have been paid by oil companies to train Azerbaijani soldiers, he reports the arrival from Afghanistan of approximately 1,000 mujahidin, who often stayed at the 'Azerbaijan' hotel. According to Western diplomats based in Baku, they apparently saw action for the first time in October 1993 when the Nagorny Karabakh Armenians occupied 100 kilometres of Azerbaijani territory along the Azerbaijani-Iranian border. The article concludes with a reference to the involvement of Turkish officers as training personnel in military camps near Gyanja;

- The weekly news magazine Ikibin Dogru reports in its issue of 20 December 1992 that the adjutant-general of the Turkish armed forces was recruiting Turkish officers to reinforce the Azerbaijani army. The article, by H. Cicek, reports that officers are allegedly paid $7,500 a month out of a secret fund administered by the adjutant-general of the Turkish armed forces;

- In its 4 January 1994 issue, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes the violent clashes that occurred during the final days of 1993. It confirms the use of mercenaries from neighbouring States and refers above all to the involvement of Afghan mercenaries in these clashes. The dispatch of these mercenaries was apparently negotiated during the visit of the Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs to Kabul. The Deputy Minister is reported to have brought the first 200 mercenaries with him to Baku in his private aircraft. They belonged to the forces of the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Mr. Hekmatyar, and were paid by Saudi Arabia. Experts believe that the reasons for their involvement were purely financial.

- In its issue of 24 February 1994, the Russian daily Izvestiya reports that Russian mercenaries are serving in the Azerbaijani army. According to this article, the military recruitment services in Tula, Kaluga, Ivanovo, Tambov and Vladimir launched an active recruitment drive as a result of which approximately 150 Russian mercenaries arrived in Baku at the end of 1993. These mercenaries allegedly received 500,000 roubles a month, half of which was paid in dollars. Most of the soldiers believed they were going to serve in the Russian army. The article devotes considerable coverage to interviews with Russian soldiers who had been recruited in this manner by the military recruitment services. These soldiers testify that they arrived in Baku on 20 December 1992 aboard an Air Azerbaijan Tu-154. Some of them escaped and some returned home, but several of them were killed and, in some cases, their bodies were never found. The journalist notes that this group of mercenaries was neither the first nor the last, since the arrival of recruits from the Russian Federation continued after that date;

- As a follow-up to its article of 24 February, and in the light of an inquiry launched by the Russian Federal Counter-Intelligence Service in the meantime, another article which appeared in Izvestiya on 24 November 1994 revisited the topic of the Azerbaijani army's employment of Russian mercenaries. The article reports that the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service interrogated a number of individuals who had taken part in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict and had even discovered two persons whom the Azerbaijani authorities had requested to kidnap Armenian officers holidaying in the Russian Federation. Aleksandr Mikhaylov, an official in the Counter-Intelligence Service, confirmed to the journalist that the findings of the investigation had been sent to the Procurator of the Russian Federation. The Procurator initiated 19 criminal proceedings on the basis of this investigation, but all charges were dropped owing to lack of evidence. The Procurator recognizes, however, that Azerbaijan is using Russian mercenaries with the complicity of the Russian military recruitment services. In the wake of this investigation, a draft law has been submitted to the Russian Duma with a view to including an article on the use of mercenaries in the Penal Code of the Russian Federation.

This information clearly shows that the Azerbaijani Republic is using the services of mercenaries in order to impose its desire to dominate the territory and people of Nagorny Karabakh. We therefore request that you take account of this information in the preparation of your report on the use of mercenaries in armed conflicts.

Below is a list of mercenaries captured in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region:

(1) Oleg Aleksey Bilibengo, born in 1963 in Ukraine. Address: 10 Bargamingo Street, Vladivostok. Secondary education. Served in the Azerbaijani special operations forces from May 1992. Captured at Agdam.

(2) Aleksey Dimitri Suslo, born in 1976 in Ukraine. Address: 24 Belisgo Street, Kiev. Served in the Azerbaijani special operations forces from May 1992. Captured at Agdam.

(3) Anatoli Georgi Chistyagov, born in 1955 in Russia. Address: 32/31 24th Street, Taoukavsi, Latvia. Higher education, pilot. Served in the Azerbaijani air force as a member of the Gultamir battalion. He was wounded and captured on 15 January 1992 in the vicinity of Vank-Sulgarent. Died in October 1992.

(4) Yuri Viktor Belichenko, born in 1966 in Ukraine. Address: 66/34 Brimarsghe Street, Znamensk. Higher education, pilot. Served in the Azerbaijani air force from 1978 in the 'Nasosny' forces near Sumgait. He was wounded and captured on 20 August 1992 in the Mardakert area.

(5) Marat Ichgnei Ichgneiev, born in 1949 in Kyrgyzstan. Address: 48 Batovai Street, Bishkek. Higher education, pilot. Served from September 1993 in the 'Talyar' battalion. Captured in the Omar mountains on 17 February 1994.

(6) Sergei Aleksandr Shanukhin, born in 1967 in Russia. Address: 9/8 Bleganov Street, Heuz village, Krasnodar Territory. Secondary technical education. Served in the 170th battalion of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Shamkhor from February 1994. Captured in April 1994 in the village of Kuludjhan in the Agdam area.

(7) Bakhtiar Verbole Baberzai, born in 1974 in Afghanistan. Address: Mouzari Sherif village, Afghanistan. Served as an officer in the Azerbaijani armed forces from April 1994. Captured on 20 April 1994.

(8) Humag Atilla Hamdioglu, born in 1959 in Turkey. Address: Mez-Burunkugh village, Kayseri, Turkey. Secondary education. Served in the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Kubatly area. From 1993 worked as a military adviser. Captured in Kubatly on 20 August 1993. Freed in September 1993 and returned to Turkey.

(9) Amir Ibrahimli Buluk Abat, born in 1970 in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Address: 33 Montazeri Avenue, Urmia, Iran. Secondary education. Served in the 701st battalion of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Baku. Captured in February 1994 in the village of Hanchag, Kelbajar region. Freed in July 1994 and returned to Iran.

(10) Movla Movladi oglu Abasov, born in 1957 in Chechnya. Address: Ozhelga village, Gudermes region, Chechnya. Served in the Azerbaijani armed forces from 1992. Captured in June 1992 at Stepanakert. Freed and returned to Chechnya on 30 October 1992.

(11) Hamza Murat oglu Bedurov, born in 1963 in Chechnya. Address: 27 Lermontov Street, Sermontov. Served in the Azerbaijani armed forces from 1992. Captured in July 1992 in the vicinity of Ijevan. Freed and returned to Chechnya on 30 October 1992.

(12) Egor Dimitri Ivanov, born in 1964 in Russia. Address unknown. Recruited into the Azerbaijani armed forces directly from prison. Captured near Kafan on 17 August 1992. Freed and returned to Russia on 30 October 1992.

"Like the previous information available to us, the most recent also indicates that in the temporarily occupied territories of Croatia, particularly those bordering on the so-called Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are constantly a certain number of foreigners who perform services for the occupying authorities against remuneration.

Beside mercenaries from several Eastern Bloc countries, particularly Russia, Bulgaria and Romania, armed paramilitary groups from the Republic of Serbia have been coming to these territories as a sort of voluntary force.

These paramilitary groups are the ones who are the most extreme in the ethnic cleansing of the remaining non-Serbian population and the devastation of the cultural and historic heritage of the Croatian and other non-Serbian populations in the region.

The organized groups of mercenaries have established an organized system of plundering economic and natural resources in these territories, which are either taken to the Republic of Serbia or used for maintaining the authority of the political, military and police apparatus of the self-proclaimed state, the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina.

Direct involvement of the authorities of Serbia in the activities of the paramilitary groups and their support to the local occupying authorities in Croatia have been clearly shown during the liberation of Western Slavonia and the establishment of the State and legal sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia in this area.

They are also shown by the fact that nearly all the commanding officers in the formerly occupied part of Croatia were members of the so-called Yugoslav National Army (JNA), which paid them.

The presence of voluntary units and mercenaries from the so-called FRY in the territory of the Republic of Croatia was recorded as early as the beginning of the aggression against Croatia in 1991.

The most numerous category of mercenaries registered are career officers of the army of the so-called FRY, as well as officers of the former JNA, who are in commanding positions in the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK). Their functions range from the commander of the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina to the commander of the so-called corps and brigades. Generally, they have a command and coordination function in the army of Serbian Krajina. This group of officers claims to be from the temporarily occupied territories of the Republic of Croatia, which are controlled by the Serbian paramilitary units, and is on the payroll of the so-called army of Yugoslavia. According to the information available, around 700 persons (career officers of the so-called army of FRY and former officers of the so-called JNA) are engaged in the temporarily occupied territories of the Republic of Croatia with mercenary status. The majority of these persons are nationals of the so-called FRY (Serbia and Montenegro). The following persons are the most important among those who are on the payroll of the army of Yugoslavia and who are periodically sent to the battlefields in the Republic of Croatia as personnel of the army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina:

1. Mile Mrksic, lieutenant-general, now a commander of the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, was formerly assistant chief of the so-called General Staff of the army of FRY.

2. Mirko Bjelanovic, major-general, assistant commander of the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

3. Ljubomir Domazetovic, general, special adviser to the commander-in-chief of the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina.

4. Mile Novakovic, major-general, assistant commander and adviser to the so-called President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, Milan Martic.

5. Boro Poznanovic, colonel, commander of the so-called 7th North Dalmatian corps.

6. Stevo Sevo, colonel, commander of the so-called 15th Lika corps.

7. Veljko Bosanac, colonel, commander of the so-called 21st corps.

8. Dusan Loncar, major-general, commander of the so-called 11th East Slavonic corps.

9. Branislav Kusljic, lieutenant-commander, former commander of 'Alfa Centre', currently occupying a position in the Federal Secretariat for National Defence in Belgrade.

10. Jovica Gazibara, career officer of the so-called navy of Yugoslavia, commander of 'Alfa Centre'.

Career officers of the so-called army of Yugoslavia in the headquarters of the former so-called 18th corps were the commander of the corps, Colonel Lazo Babic; his deputy, Colonel Milan Romanic; civilian sector officer, Colonel Slobodan Peric; security officer Lieutenant-Colonel Borislav Stijak and many others. All career officers of the so-called army of Yugoslavia within the so-called 18th corps were on the payroll of the so-called General Staff of the army of Yugoslavia in Belgrade. An irrefutable proof of this are documents found during the liberation of Western Slavonia by the police and military forces of the Republic of Croatia. Written and other documentation has been found which confirm the direct link between the so-called army of Yugoslavia and the so-called 18th corps of the army of Serbian Krajina. Some documents show the presence in the so-called 18th corps of the army of Serbian Krajina of 261 military persons from the Banja Luka Armoured Unit, who did not have permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia but were sent to the said area from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the action 'Blitz', the arrival of a large number of Cossacks, headed by Colonel Ataman Georgievich from the Republic of Moldova, was recorded in Eastern Slavonia, linked to the raising of the shaken morale. In this area there are also two Russian officers, who were United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) commanders in the former Sector East, i.e. Colonel Vladimir Loginov and Aleksandar Chromchenko. Is has been confirmed that Loginov, after his release from duty in UNPROFOR, remained in Vukovar and became a military adviser to the so-called army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina for training and planning of armed operations.

In this area the presence of a certain number of foreign mercenaries from Russia, Bulgaria and Romania was recorded. It has been established that several persons of Russian nationality were deployed in Mirkovci, where they were paid travel expenses and remuneration for military service and promised land in this area.

The presence of the so-called party paramilitary formations from the so-called FRY was recorded, i.e. 'Beli orlovi', 'Tigrovi', 'Pantere', 'Crna Legija', etc.

Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan, a mercenary and war criminal with extensive media coverage, and his paramilitary troops, the 'Tigers', took part in the Serb aggression against Croatia from the very first day. The headquarters of his troops is in the occupied town of Erdut, where they also have their training camp. Some information indicates that a certain number of 'Tigers' are in fact a professional group of commandos of the so-called army of Yugoslavia.

Paramilitary troops numbering some 220 men and calling themselves 'Super Tigers' have recently arrived in Eastern Slavonia and are partly stationed in Erdut.

One of the camps where the presence of foreign mercenaries has also been recorded is the so-called Alfa Centre near the village of Bruska in the former municipality of Benkovac. The camp is specially set up for sabotage and terrorism and sudden attacks on the rear lines of the Croatian army. It was established and led for some time by Dragan Vasiljkovic, alias Danijel Sneden, called Captain Dragan, citizen of FRY and Australia (former officer of the Australian army for special assignments). According to the available information, five citizens of the Republic of Ireland who were in the camp in the capacity of instructors had made friends with Vasiljkovic in Australia. Officers of the so-called army of Yugoslavia, mostly members of the rapid reaction paratroopers from Nis, also serve as military instructors. For a long time, the camp was led by Captain Dragan's deputy, Tihomir Mraovic, a captain in the so-called army of Yugoslavia, who himself is a paratrooper from Nis. We have information that the Second Department of the Federal Secretariat for National Defence (FSND) directly makes personnel changes at Alfa Centre in that it brings in officers of the army of the so-called FRY, who in turn report to the Second Department of the FSND. This is corroborated by the fact that Alfa Centre can only be reached by telephone through the FSND operator, No. 011/665-122.

The underwater training of commandos from Alfa Centre takes place in the naval base of the so-called army of Yugoslavia in Tivat, where groups consisting of 10-15 people go. At present, the commander of the camp is Jovica Gazibara, naval officer of the so-called army of Yugoslavia.

Besides providing commanding officers and military experts, the army of the so-called FRY also has other ways of assisting in the formation of the so-called army of RSK. Recruits from the so-called RSK are sent for their military training, which lasts for three to six months, in the so-called FRY, in the 'Avala' barracks at Bubanj potok, VP 6653/8 Ruma, VP 4554/10 Vrsac, Obrenovac and Sombor (where they are trained to command armoured units). At the Centre for Specialization school at Banjica in Belgrade personnel are trained and assigned to the units of the so-called army of RSK when needed. In the course of the mobilization in the so-called RSK in November 1994, military equipment for 2,000 men came from Belgrade.

Besides assisting the army of the so-called RSK, FRY continuously assists the development of the Ministry of the Interior of RSK. In mid-1993, following the communications instructions, a free telephone line was established between the Minister of the Interior of Serbia and Nikola Rastovic, the so-called Assistant Minister of RSK. The technical part was done by a team of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. Also, some 20 policemen from the so-called Ministry of the Interior of RSK were sent to the Security Institute of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior; they were received by the deputy head of the Institute, Dusko Lakcevic.

The State Security Service of Serbia engaged in organizing and sending volunteer units from Serbia to the so-called RSK. In this connection, we mention that Dejan Lucic, member of the State Security Service of Serbia, had brought Captain Dragan to Knin and introduced him to the then self-styled Minister of the Interior of RSK, Milan Martic.

Please find enclosed photocopies of some documents found with the Serb paramilitary troops during the liberation of Western Slavonia, from which the direct connection between the so-called army of Yugoslavia and the so-called 18th corps of the army of RSK can clearly be seen.

ENCLOSED:

1. Dragan Popovic (order No. 7-160, commander of the so-called 18th corps, of 20 March 1994).

2. Borislav Stijak (order No. 15-142, commander of the so-called 18th corps, of 6 April 1993, and order No. 14-205, commander of the so-called 18th corps, of 25 November 1993).

3. Zarko Novakovic (headquarters, 91st anti-armour brigade, top secret No. 1-90/93 of 10 March 1993 - schedule of family visits for officers of the army of Yugoslavia temporarily deployed at the 91st AAB).

4. Petar Miljevic (headquarters, 18th corps, top secret No. 20273 of 19 September 1994 - 'A group of military members, volunteers from the FRY, have been discovered in the 7th corps ...').

5. Dorde Meandzija (VP 3040, secret No. 243-1 of 7 September 1994, Radovici, Tivat, extraordinary promotion and evaluation of the above-mentioned person during his temporary work with the 'Serb army of RSK').

6. Milenko Dimic (VP 4001, Belgrade, classified No. 7-135 of 31 March 1994, decision on the working conditions compensation - stationed at VP 4001 Belgrade - serving at VP 9167 Rajic).

7. List of professional soldiers with citizenship of Serbia - 'FRY' and list of officers who applied for citizenship of Serbia - 'FRY' - VP 9172 Okucani.

8. List of military personnel from the so-called Yugoslavia to take leave, headquarters of the 18th motorized artillery regiment.

9. List of military personnel from the Banja Luka 'armoured unit' within the 18th corps of the army of Serbian Krajina of 20 April 1995.

10. Dragan Vukadinovic (general staff of the army of Yugoslavia, reinforcement, mobilization and system matters sector, personnel department, classified No. 14/14-227 of 27 June 1994 - decision on the double duration of the working period, the above-named having been stationed at VP 4001 Belgrade and serving in VP 9174 Stara Gradiska).

Further to the point, it is important to notice that the Government of the Republic of Croatia also has knowledge of the use of mercenaries in the military units of the 'army of the Republic of Srpska', whose nationality is other than that of the States formerly belonging to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

In the beginning of 1994, near the village of Gomolje (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Aleksandar Skrabov, member of the marine corps of the Russian army, was killed in battle. After the end of his mandate in the forces of UNPROFOR he took command of the Russian mercenary force in the so-called 'army of the Republic of Srpska'.

In April 1995 the commander of the UNPROFOR Sector East forces, the Russian General Pereljakin, who had been replaced because of miscarriage of his duties, was appointed as an adviser to the commander of the 'Baranja' division of the so-called 'RSK army'.

During May 1995 a group of 100 Greek and 500 Russian mercenaries arrived in the Gacko-Avtovac region from the town of Uzice (FRY (Serbia and Montenegro)). The main purpose of their arrival seems to be that the command of the 'Herzegovina corps' of the so-called 'army of the Republic of Srpska' intends to organize an international brigade.

Allow me, Your Excellency, to stress once again the overall commitment of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to participance in the process of suppression of the use of mercenaries throughout the world, especially as a practice contrary to the right of self-determination.

"With reference to your letter G/SO 214 (18-13) of 8 May 1995, I have the honour to forward, enclosed herewith, Information on foreign mercenaries, prepared by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with a kind request to forward it to Mr. Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, Special Rapporteur on the question of the use of mercenaries.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has given careful consideration to General Assembly resolution 49/150 and resolution 1995/5 of the Commission on Human Rights as referred to in the letter of the Special Rapporteur on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means to violate human rights and to impede the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination (G/SO 214 (18-23)).

There can be no doubt as to the soundness of the actions taken with a view to reaffirming accepted international norms relating to the prevention of the use of mercenaries in military conflicts.

As far as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is concerned, the laws and regulations pertaining to this matter are clear and based on the international commitments accepted by Yugoslavia when it ratified the international instruments prohibiting the activities of mercenaries (Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions).

Article 134 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia provides that the army of Yugoslavia is composed of Yugoslav citizens, that it is made up of a standing army and reserve units and that the standing army is composed of professional soldiers and conscripts. A federal law regulates the army of Yugoslavia (Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia No. 43/94).

According to the Law on the Army of Yugoslavia, reserve units are composed of reserve officers, reserve non-commissioned officers, reserve soldiers and women conscripts (art. 7, para. 5).

Members of the army of Yugoslavia can be only Yugoslav citizens and, exceptionally in war, foreign nationals if they join the army of Yugoslavia as volunteers (art. 8, para. 3).

The units and institutions of the army of Yugoslavia are replenished from the standing and reserve units and during a state of war, imminent war danger or a state of emergency the army can also be replenished by volunteers. Volunteers are persons who are not subject to conscription and conscripts who do not have military duty assignments in case of war. Volunteers are equal in rights and duties to military persons (art. 15).

The said provisions of the Constitution and the Law on the Army of Yugoslavia clearly indicate who in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia can be a member of the army of Yugoslavia. They also indicate that a mercenary in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cannot have the status of a combatant or a prisoner of war, which is in accordance with article 47 of Additional Protocol I.

The events in the former Yugoslavia have shown that a large number of foreign mercenaries and mujahidin are involved in the war in former Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. In its previous information to the Special Rapporteur, the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has submitted its findings on this problem.

(a) On this occasion, the attention of the Special Rapporteur is drawn to the Information on Foreign Mercenaries Participating in the War on the Territory of the Former SFR of Yugoslavia prepared by the Committee Compiling Data on Crimes against Humanity and International Law of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the basis of its investigation which was published as annex II to the fourth report of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on crimes committed in the territory of the former SFR of Yugoslavia (A/49/801-S/1994/1436, annex). Singled out from this list are the names of 13 mercenaries, Dutch citizens, who participated in the war operations in Croatia on the side of the Croatian military. Particular attention is drawn to the first eight mercenaries who participated directly in the crimes committed against the civilian Serbian population in the Medak pocket, on which UNPROFOR also reported. The list has been forwarded to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs which, according to the information available to us, transmitted it to the ad hoc International Tribunal at The Hague. The Dutch press also wrote about this (Het parool, Amsterdam, 15 April 1995, The European, 26 May 1995);

(b) According to the available information, six instructors from Jordan participated in the training of the 505th Muslim brigade from Buzim and in Koprivna (Cazinska Krajina) in 1993. They were transferred from Zagreb (Croatia). They were members of the special units of the Jordanian armed forces;

(c) A large number of mujahidin participated in the war operations in the Krupa area on the Una in December 1994. On the basis of lost documents, identified were Ahmed Hasan Al-Khatib, born in 1947, at Kalonia, Jordan, and Abid Ahmed Hasan, born in 1957 in Amman, Jordan;

(d) Furthermore, according to the information available to us, a group of 22 mujahidin was infiltrated, for the purpose of carrying out terrorist acts, into the area of Kamenicka premet (Mt. Ozren) in former Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of April 1995. Having been given chase, they left behind many documents, including their battle conduct reports. Their names are: Abu Imadel Meki, Abu Muhamed el Tunisi, Omran Abdel Setari, Abu Ahmed el Tunisi, Abu Hamaz, Abu Rahman Tunisi, Abu Haib el Magrebi, Abu Hamza el Pakistani, Abu Zijan el Tiblizi, Hamza Tunisi, Abu Abdulah el Gini, Abu Rida el Tunisi, Abu Selmani el Yemeni, Abu Talka el Jinubi, Abu Zubair el Tunisi, Abu Hasim el Tunisi, Abdulah el Tunisi, Akobad el Yeziri, Aburida el Magrebi, Abu el Musema el Masri, Abu Sima el Masri and Abu Munir el Mini.

The attention of the Special Rapporteur is drawn to the foreign reports on the participation of mercenaries, i.e. mujahidin, in the war in the former Yugoslavia.

(a) On 3 April 1995, the Sun of London carried an interview with 17-year-old Briton George Paterson from Biggin Hill, Kent, in which he described his duties as a mercenary sniper in the 109th brigade of the Croatian army. The said mercenary described in detail the murder of a Serbian soldier and said that he had been paid £100 every month;

(b) British mercenary Stephen Lambert was interviewed by 'Inside Story' on BBC 1. He said that there had been hundreds of British and French mercenaries with a Celtic accent in Croatia. He had belonged to the First International Unit whose assignment had been, among other things, to carry out sabotage by planting explosives in towns in order to deceive European Union cease-fire monitors and to present the Serbian army to the world public and the United Nations as the violator of the agreed cease-fire;

(c) On 20 February 1993, the Daily Telegraph reported on the actions of the Muslim Hanjar division of about 6,000 soldiers, citing an UNPROFOR officer who said that it was strange that a small number of Hanjar division commanders spoke Serbo-Croatian. The Daily Telegraph also reported that, according to United Nations sources, the members of this division were led and trained by mujahidin, veterans from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many Albanians from Albania and Kosovo and Metohija were also members of the division;

(d) On 31 July 1994, a magazine published in London reported that about 40 officers of the Turkish army coordinated the operations of mujahidin who were still arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In its February-March 1994 issue, the same magazine reported that the massacre at the Sarajevo Markale market on 5 February 1994 had been committed by a group of Hezbollah mujahidin specially trained for terrorist and other clandestine actions and not by a mortar attack of the Serbian side. Furthermore, in all its issues from January to August 1993, the magazine reported about the activities of the Armed Islamic Movement and its 'International Legion' in former Bosnia and Herzegovina under the control of well-trained and experienced mujahidin from Afghanistan. The magazine also reported about a great number of mujahidin from Iran, Algeria, Egypt, the Sudan, the Gulf, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey. By the autumn of 1992, between 200 and 300 mujahidin had arrived in Travnik alone, over 200 in central Bosnia and Herzegovina and several hundred in Sarajevo. It is also said that Iran has sent well-trained Pazdarans to Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it controls Hezbollah units from Jordan. These forces are used for clandestine terrorist operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the beginning of November 1992, over 50 instructors and terrorists, members of the Hezbollah and Tawhid based at Baalbek (Lebanon), were sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina;

(e) On 2 June 1994, The Washington Times published the news, obtained from United States intelligence sources, that in early May 1994, Iran had sent 400 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the assignment to organize terrorist groups among local Muslims. The activity of the Guard members was organized from the Iranian Embassy in Zagreb. According to The Washington Times, between 350 and 400 Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen were in Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time. The members of this special military unit had trained militant Muslims in the Middle East and northern Africa;

(f) In its analysis entitled 'The Truth about Gorazde' (1994), a special group of the Republican Party in the United States Congress said that Muslims in this town had gained advantage due to Afghan and Arab volunteers who expelled the Christian population, describing it as an act of ethnic cleansing;

(g) In its issue of July 1994, Davor of Jerusalem reported that central Bosnia and Herzegovina was turning into a military training camp headed by Hezbollah members. In this region, there are two training camps - one near Zivinice and the other near Tuzla in the vicinity of the airport, which enables the Muslims to control illegal arms supplies. The magazine reported the arrival of 400 Hezbollah members from the 'El Quds' units to Bosnia and Herzegovina. These mujahidin had previously been in the region of Baalbek in Lebanon. According to the magazine, mujahidin were leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina and, at the beginning of 1994, about 300 of them had already gone to Azerbaijan where they joined the Azeri army;

(h) On 26 February 1995, the Turkish magazine Nokta wrote about the participation of 'Unit of the World Order' members in the war in former Bosnia and Herzegovina. These members are mujahidin, but also members of the special task units of the Turkish police who spend their vacations or sick-leaves fighting in former Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1. Rick Grauwert: born in Helden, the Netherlands, age about 27, finished the Royal Military School in the Netherlands. As a professional soldier he had served in the Dutch army with the rank of sergeant. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary by the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the mercenaries in the Croatian army who committed war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. He was demobilized from the Croatian army allegedly under pressure from the West, whereafter he tried to obtain Croatian citizenship. Having failed to do that, he has returned to Holland and is currently working as a truck driver in his home town.

2. Raymond van der Linden: born in Roosendaal, the Netherlands, age about 35. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. For some time he was a member of the Croatian Armed Forces (HOS) and after that he joined the 104th Croatian Defence Council (HVO) brigade and took part in war operations in the region of Bosanska Posavina. After he was wounded, he was cured in a hospital in Zagreb. He acquired Croatian citizenship and is now living in Gospic with his wife Tanja from Velika Gorica.

3. Andre Van der Aart: born in Lisse, the Netherlands, age about 29. He used to be a member of the Dutch contingent of United Nations forces in Lebanon with the rank of corporal. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. He is currently living in his home town in Holland.

4. Mark Molenaar: born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, age about 24. He used to serve in the Dutch contingent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces stationed at the Seedorf base in Germany. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary by the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. Following demobilization, he returned to Holland.

5. Edwin Hoovens: born in Venlo, the Netherlands, age about 26. Used to be a truck driver in the Dutch army. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary by the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against the Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. He was wounded while he was a member of the Croatian army. He had returned to Holland wherefrom he allegedly left for Israel and is currently working in a kibbutz.

6. Martin de Porres: born in Ambon, Indonesia, age about 33, used to be a sergeant in the Dutch army. Formerly a student of theology. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. After he was demobilized, he returned to Holland and is allegedly now a monk in Arnhem.

7. Joost van Dijk: born in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, age about 26. Used to be a professional soldier in the Dutch army for four years, specializes in mines and explosives. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. Upon demobilization, he returned to Holland. He had been treated for alcohol addiction and is at present allegedly in Kazakstan as a volunteer.

8. Tom Chitum: born in Whoopaki Lake, United States of America, age about 46, fought in Viet Nam as a member of the United States army. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. He abandoned the Croatian army following the leave he had been granted in 1993.

9. Ellijas Laslo: born in Hungary, served in the parachute regiment of the Hungarian army. As a mercenary for the Croatian Army, he joined HOS and then the 104th HVO brigade and participated in the fighting in Bosanska Posavina. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against the Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket.

10. Johannes Tilder: born on 25 October 1963 in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands. Attended the Royal Military School in the Netherlands, served as an officer in the Dutch army, graduated from the Special Military School, where he completed a reconnaissance and parachute course. He was a member of the Dutch battalion of NATO in Germany, at the Seedorf base. He stayed in Germany from 1985 to 1990 when he joined the French Foreign Legion. He left the Legion by the end of 1990 and returned to the Netherlands. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary by the Croatian army via a branch organization of 'Croatian Relief' in the Netherlands. His engagement as a mercenary for the Croatian army was mediated by the Nederlandse Werk Gemenschap organization, together with a pro-Fascist party Centrum Democraten. He arrived in Croatia on 22 November 1991. He was given his first instructions by the Ministry of Defence where he was received by Jure Martinovic. Thereafter, he was placed at the disposal of the Croatian army in Gospic where he reported to the then Commander of Military Police, Tihomir Oreskovic. He held the Croatian army rank of lieutenant, deputy commander of the reconnaissance and sabotage detachment of the 9th guard mechanized brigade. He was one of the perpetrators of war crimes against Serb civilians and wounded in the Medak pocket. Killed?

11. Bart Velt: born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, age about 30. Used to be a radio operator in the Dutch army contingent attached to the United Nations forces in Sanai. Towards the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary in the Croatian army and stationed in Perusic. After demobilization he returned to the Netherlands and is currently working in his home town.

12. Johannes Stelling: born in Drachten, the Netherlands, age about 28, hired as a mercenary for the Croatian army by the beginning of 1992. Served as a reconnaissance officer in the Croatian army. Following demobilization, he stayed for some time in Herzegovina and Livno. By the end of 1992 he returned to the Netherlands and is now living in his home town.

13. Ronald Geurts: born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, age about 27, served in the Dutch army. By the end of 1991 he joined the Croatian army and was stationed in the army barracks in Perusic, allegedly as a journalist. He did some shooting with a video camera and sent his reports to Dutch Television via Zagreb. In the spring of 1994 he was working in a restaurant in Maksimir, Zagreb.

14. Peter van Eekeren: a citizen of the Netherlands. By the end of 1991 he was hired as a mercenary for the Croatian army and acted as an instructor in Jastrebarsko. He also sent reports to Dutch Television.

15. Mustafa N., called 'Africa', originally from the Sudan, reportedly attended the Maritime College in Rijeka. Served with the Croatian army as an interpreter for Johannes Tilder and also as an instructor in the Croatian army brigade. Allegedly he is currently employed as an interpreter for the European Community Mission in Ogulin.

16. An Englishman, unidentified, hired for the Croatian army in the First Brigade in Samobor.

17. A Canadian, unidentified, hired for the Croatian army as a colonel in the area of Zadar.

18. Henk Joling: a citizen of the Netherlands, married to a Croat woman residing in Holland. Owns a small export-import company in Zagreb. Served as an intermediary between the Croatian Ministry of Defence and the Dutch mercenaries seeking engagement by the Croatian army.

19. The so-called 'International Brigade' was established in Zagreb at the beginning of the war and consisted of foreign mercenaries and foreigners of the Croat origin. There were many Germans from the former German Democratic Republic, Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Austrians, etc. in the Brigade. Most of its operations were carried out in Slavonia, in the vicinity of Osijek. Allegedly, the commander of the Brigade was a captain Hans, a citizen of Germany.

20. Uslisti (Aleksandrovic) Sergei: born on 18 July 1963 in Omskaya district, former USSR. Used to be a member of the 101st HVO brigade which took part in the operations in Bosanska Posavina.

21. Trishin (Borisovic) Aleksei: born on 6 July 1964 in Novolsibirsk, former USSR. Used to be a member of the 101st HVO brigade which took part in the operations in Bosanska Posavina.

22. Wolfgand Niedereuger, a citizen of Austria, used to be hired for the Croat army in the so-called BIH, a fact published in the Austrian press.

23. Krup Stefan, a citizen of Austria from Korushka, participated in the Croat army operations near Mostar.

24. On 20 July 1992, an unidentified German citizen was one of the perpetrators of the murder of Milena Laganjin, a Serb woman, in the camp established for Serbs at the school 'Ivan Goran Kovacic' in Livno.

25. At the beginning of 1992, a number of mercenaries were attached to the Croat forces in Livno from Germany, England, Spain and Argentina. Also noticed among them was a black man. They all wore uniforms with the RH insignia (Republic of Croatia).

(a) In mid-September 1992, between Tesanj and Teslic, a group of 43 mercenaries, mujahidin, mainly from Saudi Arabia, took part in the operations against the army of the Republic of Srpska on the side of Muslim military forces. The following persons were identified:

26. Abu Isak, commander of the group, born in Mecca.

27. Abu Xerib, deputy commander of the group, born in Mecca.

28. Seih Abu Sulejman, in charge of religious matters.

The above-mentioned mercenaries had crossed the Austrian-Slovenian border by the beginning of August 1992 and a few days later they crossed the border of Croatia. In Kamensko, they received a certificate from Imam Sefik Omerbasic which stated that they had been dispatched to BIH to investigate the possibilities for delivering humanitarian aid. Films and photographs showing the heads of decapitated Serbs were found on some of them.

(b) The following persons fought on the Derventa front on the side of military forces of the former BIH:

29. An unidentified Arab.

30. Venzhou Zhejiang, Chinese, a citizen of France.

31. Abid Abu Safijahsi, a citizen of Jordan, used to have permanent foreigner's residence in Derventa.

(c) In Hrasnica:

32. Naser N., a citizen of Bahrain, in collusion with a group of foreigners, organized the procurement and delivery of arms to the warehouses in Pazaric and Hrasnica. This deal was supported by 'Mesihat' from Zagreb.

A special unit was stationed in the region of Hrasnica, under the name of 'Black Swans', composed of mercenaries - professionals from the United States of America, France, Italy and elsewhere.

(d) The following person fought on the side of the military forces of the so-called BIH in the broader area of Prijedor:

33. Ostruk Mahmut, a citizen of Turkey.

(e) About 30 Turkish citizens, together with the members of the territorial defence of the so-called BIH, participated in the attack on Llijas and Cakrcici. Among them were allegedly about 20 Turkish women whose duty was to strengthen their morale.

(f) The foreign mercenaries mentioned below who fought on the side of the military forces of the so-called BIH were treated in the Zenica hospital:

34. Ibu Raha, a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

35. Shaker Al Sharif, a citizen of the Syrian Arab Republic.

36. Abu Falah, a citizen of Egypt.

37. Abu Amin, a citizen of Egypt.

38. Ijas Medini, a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

39. Abu El Zubeir, a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

40. Abdurahman Abu Sarahudin, a citizen of Saudi Arabia.

41. Twelve unidentified citizens of Islamic countries.

(g) Around 30 foreign mercenaries - Italians, Germans, Frenchmen and others - were accommodated in the Buna bungalows, the property of Aluminum Works of Mostar.

(h) Unidentified citizens of Germany, Great Britain and the United States of America were members of HOS in the region of Capljina.

(i) Mercenaries, members of HOS, at the infamous camp for Serbs in Dretelj.

42. Joe N., a citizen of the United States of America, posing as a journalist, spoke no Serbian, age about 48, about 180 cm tall, slim, with brown hair, participated in the rape of Serb women in the camp for Serbs in Dretelj.

43. A few Poles and Germans were members of the Croat military forces in the so-called BIH in Dretelj.

By the beginning of September 1992, 250 mujahidin ('holy warriors of Jihad') had arrived in the so-called BIH from Turkey, Iran, Bahrain and Qatar. They were accommodated in the building of the Pensioners' Home in Babina rijeka near Zenica and in Kakanj. Their transfer to the former BIH had been arranged by Muhamed Cengic, Vice Prime Minister of the Government of the so-called BIH.

Mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion and other foreign citizens were members of the so-called 'Frankopan' battalion established and trained in Kumrovec near Zagreb. They fought in Herzegovina, the region of Mostar. The sole purpose of this detachment was to carry out sabotage and terrorist actions on the territory of the Republic of Srpska. Their motto was 'No prisoners'.

Mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion and other foreign citizens were members of the so-called 4th independent battalion of the Croatian army under the name of 'Zrinski'. They had also been prepared and trained in Kumrovec near Zagreb. For a time they were operating in the broader area of Tomislavgrad (Duvno).

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