Bosanska Krupa church destruction documented in new footage

The Committee for the Protection of Serbian Rights in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has released video footage and photographs documenting the destruction of the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assembly of the Holy Archangel Gabriel in Jasenica, near Bosanska Krupa.

The church, originally built in 1885, was targeted in 1995. The released footage reportedly shows armed, uniformed individuals approaching the church while the bell tower was still intact and shows no signs of combat damage from artillery or gunfire. The recordings allegedly depict the demolition of the iconostasis and shots being fired at a cross. Subsequent photographs from 2002 show the church without its bell tower, which the Committee states was mined.

The Committee criticized religious and political leaders of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina—including Husein Kavazović, Mustafa Cerić, and Edhem Bičakčić—for a previous statement claiming that their military forces had preserved the religious and cultural identity of other peoples. The Committee argues that the evidence contradicts these claims regarding the protection of Serbian religious sites.