Pro-Government Militias

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Green Berets (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Basic Group Information

Name assigned by coder: no
PGM ID Number: 395
Country: Bosnia-Herzegovina
Date formed: March 4, 1992
    Accuracy of date formed: year
Details of Formation: The Green Berets were founded in Sarajevo in early 1992 by demobilized soldiers and conscripts from the Yugoslav National Army (Wikipedia). A news source reports that it was formed by the Party of Democratic Action.
Date dissolved: April 16, 1992
    Accuracy of date dissolved: day
Details of Termination: The newly founded Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina integrated the Green Berets in the second half of 1992 (Wikipedia). News sources mention that the Green Berets were brought under the command of the Territorial Defence Force in April and May 1992. They may still have operated with a degree of independence after that.
Termination Type(s): integrated into regular forces

Former and Successor Group Information

Predecessor group(s): none
Successor group(s): none
Private Military Company? no
Former Group? no
    Former Armed Group? no
Former Rebel Group? no
    Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: none
PGM Becomes Rebel Group? no
    Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: none

Government Relation, Support, and Training

Government Relation: informal (type 1)
Created by the Government?: yes
    Main Creating Government Institution: governing party
Government Link(s): political party
    If link to party, name of party: Party of Democratic Action (SDA)
Training and Equipment: unclear
Shared Information and Joint Operations: no information
Shared Personnel: no
Type(s) of Material Support: no information
State Sponsor(s): none
Other Connection(s):

Group Characteristics

Membership: ethnic; religious; ex soldiers; party activists
Primary Membership: religious
Alternative Primary Membership: no information
Location: Sarajevo
Force Strength: [2000, 30000]
Target(s): no information
Purpose(s): no information

Ethnic Characteristics

Ethnic Target(s): none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: not applicable
Ethnic Membership: Bosniaks/Muslims (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: given
Ethnic Purpose: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: not applicable

Other Information

Other Information: The Green Berets are also known as “Zelene beretke”. They were mostly active during the war in the early part of 1992 in northern and central Bosnia (Wikipedia).

New Variables from Meta-Analysis

Purpose

Purpose: The Green Berets were supposed to further the interests of Bosnian Muslims, by being the armed wing of the main Muslim political party during the war in 1992.
Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use unknown

Treatment of Civilians

Treatment of Civilians:
Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: unknown

Reasons for Membership

PGM Members Coerced? no information
PGM Members Paid? no information
Reasons for Membership: Members were demobilized and former soldiers who were mostly ethnic Bosniaks and supporters of Bosnian nationalism (Wikipedia).
PGM Members Killed? no information

PGM Size

Size: Estimations on PGM size differ widely. Wikipedia estimates a number of 3,500. One news source mentioned a minimum of 6,000 in March 1992, another source estimated 30,000 that same month. In April 1992, a news source estimated around 2,000 members in Visegrad alone.

Weapons and Training

Weapons and Training: The Green Berets are trained by former officers of the Yugoslav People’s Army.

Organisation

Organisation: The Green Berets were the armed wing of the Democratic Action Party, the main Muslim political party in Bosnia. It was nominally under the command of the Territorial Defense Force. According to Wikipedia, their commander was Emin Švrakić.

Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis

Wikipedia. “Green Berets (Bosnian Paramilitary)”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_Berets_(Bosnian_paramilitary)&oldid=861554688

Evidence