Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.

Region ‘Liberated’ by Serbs Isolated, Desolate

The Washington Post
August 3, 1992

TOPUSKO, Croatia – The Serbs who control this part of Croatia describe it as liberated territory. Topusko has been liberated of running water, electricity and virtually all its Croat inhabitants.

Shops are closed — they have been ... (Read more)

Bosnian Refugee Convoy Is Blocked; Slovenia Blames Austria, Austria Blames Germany for Transit Denial

The Washington Post
July 27, 1992

CATEZ, Croatia, July 26 – Six busloads of Bosnian women and children rolled up to a Slovenian border station near here Saturday and asked to be allowed to drive through Slovenia to promised sanctuary in the Netherlands.

More than 24 ... (Read more)

Muslims Forced to Leave Bosnia; Refugees Say Serbs Used Intimidation to Make Them Sign Up for U.N. Convoy

The Washington Post
July 25, 1992

KARLOVAC, Croatia, July 24 – Firing shots into the air and broadcasting threats over loudspeakers, ethnic Serbs in the Bosnian city of Bosanski Novi forced thousands of Muslims to join a United Nations evacuation convoy that was intended ... (Read more)

Fleeing to Safety in a U.N. Convoy; Thousands of Bosnian Muslims Take Emergency Corridor to Croatia

The Washington Post
July 24, 1992

KARLOVAC, Croatia, July 23 – About 4,500 terrified Slavic Muslims emerged from the Bosnian city of Bosanski Novi today after U.N. personnel carved out an emergency land corridor to rescue them from shootings, beatings and jailings at the hands of local Serbs.

... (Read more)

U.N. Says Serbs Use Beatings, Arrests to Spur Muslims’ Flight

The Washington Post
July 23, 1992

POPUCKO, Croatia, July 22 – Serb militia forces are using threats, arrests and beatings to terrify Slavic Muslims in Bosnia-Hercegovina into fleeing their homes, U.N. officials said here today.

“A major tool being used is fear,” ... (Read more)

U.N. Airlift in Bosnia Resumes

The Washington Post
July 22, 1992

SARAJEVO – The French sentry sipped his cafe au lait from a tin cup, glanced through the shattered glass of his airport guard booth and listened calmly to the whiz, boom and thud of bullets and mortar shells around him. He liked what he heard.

He ... (Read more)

Bosnia’s Muslims Caught Between Allies, Enemies

The Washington Post
July 19, 1992

BOSANSKI BROD, Bosnia – Ali Enic and hundreds of other refugees here are caught in a vise. Behind them are rampaging Serb militia forces. Ahead of them, just across a short bridge to safety, is a Croatian machine gun.

For six days, desperate ... (Read more)

‘We Cannot Go On Like This’; Bosnian Refugees in Croatia Caught Between War and Politics

The Washington Post
July 18, 1992

SAVSKI MAROF, Croatia, July 17 – About 5,000 sick and weary refugees from Bosnia-Hercegovina — driven from their homes by Bosnia’s four-month-old war with Serb forces — are stranded in filthy railroad cars here while ... (Read more)

Serb Shelling Hits Crowd of Refugees in Stadium; Cross-Border Fire Traps Fleeing Bosnians

The Washington Post
July 16, 1992

SLAVONSKI BROD, Croatia, July 15 – The blood-letting in Bosnia spilled over the border into Croatia today as a salvo of Serb artillery shells fell on a stadium packed with Bosnian refugees, killing at least eight and wounding scores more.

“People ... (Read more)

Dark Memories Haunt a Sunny Island Refuge; Terror of War Lingers for Bosnian Muslims

The Washington Post
June 23, 1992

BADIJA, Croatia – This is an island where paradise meets hell.

With its emerald waters, palm trees, balmy weather and a charming former Benedictine monastery, Badija is the kind of place travel agencies feature on big color posters. ... (Read more)