The Gorazde Peacekeepers: South Wales Police pays tribute to the protection forces

As we come together to remember the terrible events at Srebrenica, we are also reminded of the courage of those who were tasked with defending the many Bosnian Muslims at risk of genocide during the years of the Bosnian War.

In the autumn of 1992, British troops were deployed in their thousands to Bosnia and Croatia and were tasked with supporting the United Nations humanitarian aid convoys as part of a UN Protection Force.

 

In the years following, many more were deployed for peace keeping duties. Among them was nineteen-year-old Phil Marchant of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who was deployed to the enclave of Gorazde in February 1995.

At the time, the majority of people living in Gorazde were Bosnian Muslim and under constant threat of attack by the Serbian Forces who were carrying out orders to ethnically cleanse the country of its Muslim population. 

Prior to Phil’s deployment, Gorazde was attacked on numerous occasions and like its neighbouring enclave of Srebrenica, was declared a UN ‘safe area’.

 

In May 1995, the area was once again targeted by Bosnian Serbs, who eventually captured and held hostage 33 members of the battalion. At the time his section also came under attack while stationed at a checkpoint but managed to evade capture having been ordered to abandon the post.

Serbian forces continued their attempts to advance on the town but were repelled by soldiers from the Royal Welch and later by Bosnian Armed Forces who took over to occupy positions and eventually stop the advance. While the attacks on Gorazde were paused, Serbian forces blocked all aid convoys and prevented troop support to Phil and his comrades, who were also prevented from leaving the area. This led to an intervention from NATO who eventually deployed supporting forces to the region to free those trapped in the area.

The actions of those from the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Bosnian Army are credited with saving the enclave of Gorazde from suffering the same fate as Srebrenica, which was tragically seized by Serbian forces several weeks later, resulting in the deaths over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.

Phil’s deployment to Gorazde was his first operational tour and an experience he will never forget. He later served in Northern Ireland before leaving the armed forces in 1998.

In October 2000 Phil joined South Wales Police and over the course of his career has served the communities of Cardiff and Vale as a response officer and is today a Detective Inspector.

During this occasion, we pay our respects to the many Bosnian Muslims who were killed for simply being who they were and recognise those who bravely strove to defend them.