White Eagles (paramilitary)

Not to be confused with Chetniks.

The White Eagles (Serbian: Бели орлови, romanized: Beli orlovi), also known as the Avengers (Serbian: Осветници, romanized: Osvetnici),^[1] were a Serbian paramilitary group associated with the Serbian National Renewal (SNO) and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS).^[2][3] The White Eagles fought in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo during the Yugoslav Wars.^[2][3][4]

White Eagles
Бели орлови Beli orlovi
Coat-of-arms of the White Eagles
Active	1991–1999
Allegiance	Yugoslavia  Serbian Krajina  Republika Srpska
Nickname(s)	Avengers (Osvetnici) Šešelj's men (Šešeljevci)
Engagements	Croatian War of Independence Battle of Borovo Selo Battle of Vukovar Capture of Cerić 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia Voćin massacre Bosnian war 1992 Yugoslav campaign in Bosnia Defense of Foča Zvornik massacre Štrpci massacre Battle of Zvornik [bs] Doboj massacre Bijeljina massacre Kosovo War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Vojislav Šešelj Mirko Jović Dragoslav Bokan Milan Lukić

In the 2003 Vojislav Šešelj indictment from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the group is included as an alleged party in a joint criminal enterprise of ethnic cleansing, in which SRS leader Šešelj allegedly took part. In the indictment the group is identified as "volunteer units including 'Chetniks', or Šešeljevci" (Serbian Cyrillic: Шешељевци).^[5] This association was denied by Šešelj.^[6] On 31 March 2016, he was acquitted in a first-instance verdict on all counts by the ICTY, a ruling which still holds today, barring an unrelated conviction from its successor (International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals) for instigating deportation of Croats from the Serbian village of Hrtkovci.^[7]

Name

Although the group's members were occasionally referred to as Chetniks,^[8] the name White Eagles comes from the anti-communist and pro-fascist paramilitary unit that was formed during World War II, known as Serbian Volunteer Corps.^[9] White Eagle refers to the national symbol of Serbia, the double headed white eagle under a crown.

History

The White Eagles were founded at the end of 1990. The unit's emblem was a white double-headed eagle on a red shield. Its leaders were Vojislav Šešelj, Mirko Jović, Dragoslav Bokan and Milan Lukić.^[10][11] They participated in attacks on the settlement of Slatina in western Slavonia, Lovas in October, and Vukovar in November 1991.^[12]

Bosnian War

In the Bosnian war, White Eagles participated in attacks on Bosniak paramilitary units that occupied Bijeljina and defending Višegrad. In 1992, Šešelj's men, together with Arkan's Tigers, captured Zvornik.^[10]

Members of the White Eagles have been accused of the Višegrad massacre,^[13] and the Foča massacre.^[14]

The prosecution claimed that these killings were incited by Šešelj's speech, which was dismissed by the Hague Tribunal.^[15] There are also unproven allegations that the White Eagles operated a detention camp in Liješće.^[16]

Reappearance

In December 2010 a group called "White Eagles" (Serbian: Бели Орлови / Beli Orlovi) took responsibility for the killing of Kosovo's Bosniak leader Šefko Salković in the north of Kosovo. The group also took responsibility for obstructions of the election process in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, as well as for attacking KFOR troops.^[17][18]