Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje

Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Горњи Вакуф-Ускопље
Municipality and town
Location of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje Location of Gornji Vakuf - Uskoplje
Coordinates:
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Entity	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Government
• Municipality president	Sead Čaušević (SDA)
Area
• Total	402 km2 (155 sq mi)
Population (2013 census)
• Total	22,304
• Density	55,5/km2 (1,440/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+387 30

Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Bugojno, Prozor-Rama, Kupres, Novi Travnik and Konjic. It is under the administration of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although settlement in the area stretches back to prehistoric times, the town with Gornji Vakuf name arose in the 16th century in the location of the existing settlement called Česta. The name Gornji Vakuf refers to the fact that the town was established as a waqf (Vakuf) by Bosniak nobility. Mehmed-beg Stočanin, a famous Bosniak bey, is the founder of Gornji Vakuf. This town has a typical Bosnian čaršija, which is common in Central Bosnia.

History

Bosnian War

Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje was made infamous as one of the first towns to suffer from the Croat-Bosniak war (1992–94) during the Bosnian war (1992–95) - as a critical node - was vital for UNPROFOR to hold to enable UNHCR supplies to move into the country. It was held by B Company Group 1 CHESHIRE from the British Army during part of early 1993 who lost Lance corporal Wayne Edwards, who was shot by an unidentified sniper.

Gornji Vakuf shelling

Gornji Vakuf is a town to the south of the Lašva Valley and of strategic importance at a crossroads en route to Central Bosnia. It is 48 kilometres from Novi Travnik and about one hour's drive from Vitez in an armoured vehicle. For Croats it was a very important connection between the Lašva Valley and Herzegovina, two territories included in the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. It was first attacked by Croat forces on 20 June 1992, along with Novi Travnik but the attack failed. During the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing it was surrounded by Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council and attacked with heavy artillery and other weapons (tanks and snipers). The Croat forces shelling reduced much of the historical oriental center of Gornji Vakuf to rubble.

On 10 January 1993, just before the outbreak of hostilities in Gornji Vakuf, the Croat Defence Council (HVO) commander Luka Šekerija, sent a "Military – Top Secret" request to Colonel Tihomir Blaškić and Dario Kordić (later convicted by ICTY of war crimes and crimes against humanity, i.e. ethnic cleansing) for rounds of mortar shells available at the ammunition factory in Vitez. Fighting then broke out in Gornji Vakuf on 11 January 1993, sparked by a bomb which had been placed by Croats in a Bosniak-owned hotel that had been used as a military headquarters. A general outbreak of fighting followed and there was heavy shelling of the town that night by Croat artillery.

During cease-fire negotiations at the Britbat HQ in Gornji Vakuf, a Colonel Andrić, representing the HVO, demanded the Bosnian Muslim forces lay down their arms and accept HVO control of the town, threatening that if they did not agree he would flatten Gornji Vakuf to the ground. The HVO demands were not accepted by the ARBiH and the attack continued, followed by massacres of Bosnian Muslim civilians in the neighbouring villages of Bistrica, Uzričje, Duša, Ždrimci and Hrasnica. Although the Croats often cited it as a major reason for the attack on Gornji Vakuf, the commander of the British Britbat company claimed that he and his soldiers did not seen any Muslim Mujahideen in Gornji Vakuf. The shelling campaign and the attacks during the war resulted in hundreds of injured and deaths, mostly Bosnian Muslim civilians.

Settlements

• Batuša • Bistrica • Bojska • Boljkovac • Borova Ravan • Crkvice • Cvrče • Dobrošin • Donja Ričica • Dražev Dol • Duratbegov Dolac • Duša • Gaj • Galičica • Gornja Ričica • Gornji Mračaj • Gornji Vakuf • Grnica • Hrasnica • Humac • Jagnjid • Jelače • Jelići • Kozice • Krupa • Kute • Lužani • Mačkovac • Mračaj • Osredak • Pajić Polje • Paloč • Pidriš • Ploča • Podgrađe • Pridvorci • Rosulje • Seferovići • Seoci • Smrčevice • Svilići • Šugine Bare • Uzričje • Vaganjac • Valice • Vilić Polje • Voljevac • Voljice • Vrse • Zastinje • Ždrimci.

Demographics

1971

19,344 total

• Bosniaks - 10,482 (54.18%)
• Croats - 8,605 (44.48%)
• Serbs - 141 (0.72%)
• Yugoslavs - 18 (0.09%)
• others - 98 (0.53%)

1991

In the census of 1991, the municipality of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje had 25,130 inhabitants: 56.05% Bosniaks, 42.61% Croats, 0.60% Yugoslavs, 0.42% Serbs and 0.31% others.

The town itself had 5,349 residents, of which 61% Bosniaks, 34% Croats, 2% Yugoslavs, 1% Serbs and 1% others.

Ethnicity	Number	Percent (%)
Bosniaks	14,063	55.84%
Croats	10,706	42.51%
Yugoslavs	158	0.62%
others	144	0.60%
Serbs	110	0.43%
TOTAL	25,181	100%

Notable persons

• Branko Mikulić, politician
• Matej Delač, football goalkeeper
• Almir Pandzo, handball player