Vares part VI

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... The whole village was completely destroyed. , only some cattle and a single cat had escaped the devastation. Smoke was billowing out of house foundations. The water was bizzarly enough still running out of blown up water pipes. A lone yellow child rubber boot was laying at the sloap behind one of the houses. I'm still to this day wondering what happened to that child, who only a day or so ago was happily playing around in the village. Maybe the child was one of the little girls that was said to have been burned alive; poured over with petrol, just for the enjoyment of their murderers.

Col Henricsson mounted the SISU. We were now going back to Pominci to question the surviving refugees about what had happened. We were all strung up. A HVO soldier now was not worth a dime for us! The possible respect we had earlier had for them was now gone in the wind! When we are driving out through the southern inroad to Stupni Do, we find that HOV had mined the viaduct under the railroad that we had to pass. On the other side of the viaduct the mech platoon that had been delegated the southern inroad were waiting. Col Henricsson gives the nearest HVO soldier a raging trashing. The HVO soldier trembeling defends himself with "I'm only a soldier [executing orders]. He still refuses to disarm the mines. So we instead drives up the hill and over the railway. In the middle of the ranger classification yard we wave at the mech platoon going the other way.

We are again stopped at the checkpoint we had rolled over earlier that day. The HVO is determined not to be rolled over again, and has placed [anti armour] mines on the road. An even more raging Col Henricsson, jumps out of the APC with the translator Ekenheim. He tells them to " Move the mines away, or we will blow your heads off!" He points at my heavy MG. the sights is right on the forehead of an HVO soldier, and by the expression on his face, it must have looked the zise of a haubits. Ekenheim simultaniously translates Henricssons raging bashing. Funnily enough with the same animated hand gestures.

Every one in the APC is standing in the hatches with their weapons pointing at the checkpoint personel. One soldier is even standing prone on the roof of the SISU, assault rifle unsafed. Our grim facial expressions is a telltale of our determination. The HVO soldiers sees this and no one of them dares to touch their weapons.
Nordbat does not negociate any more today!

When nothing happened; Col Henricsson picks up one of the mines himself from the road and carelessly throws it against a pile of tyres standing against a wall. He picks up a second one, that one is thrown the same way. Then- as a final insult- he makes the commander of the checkpoint carry the last one away himself. With a bent back, the HVO soldier lurches away with it in his hands. The road is clear, and we continue our way...
To be continued...