The Massacre of Croats in the Village of Trusina Audio guide

Trusina and Its Wartime Context

The village of Trusina lies in the municipality of Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and entered history through the tragic events of April 16, 1993. During the Bosnian War, an armed clash was taking place here between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Defence Council. The fighting in the area was part of the wider Croat-Bosniak conflict that swept through a number of mixed municipalities in central Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Course of Events

According to available information, the fighting began between eight and nine in the morning. A unit of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the command of Zulfikar Ališpago broke through the village defenses, captured HVO members, and later eight captured fighters and sixteen civilians were killed at various locations in Trusina and its surroundings. Children were among the victims as well. Some of the civilians, especially women and children, were held in houses and later released to leave the village.

Memorial and Commemoration

Compared with some other war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Trusina long remained outside the broader public spotlight. In 2004, a modest memorial was erected here to commemorate the victims, though without any more extensive historical commentary. The remains of the dead were later moved to the Catholic cemetery of Jedinice in Ljut Dol. Today the site recalls not only the specific human losses, but also the complexity of a war in which neighborly ties unraveled under the pressure of armed conflict, ethnic violence, and the postwar reckoning with responsibility.