C. Wiebes - Intelligence en de oorlog in Bosnië 1992-1995. De rol van de inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten - Engels

156past already indicated that they were not happy with the situation. Izetbegovic appeared as a cleverpolitician to be playing all parties off against each other, and so held the different movements (aWestern oriented one and a more Islamic-fundamentalist one) within his political party in balance. 766For this reason, it was decided at the highest level to seek out opportunities for the ABiH toacquire arms and ammunition without the intervention of Zagreb. This meant direct supplies, but thiswas impossible via Sarajevo because the airfield was frequently under fire. Therefore Tuzla Air Base, inEast Bosnia was decided upon.3. Secret arms supplies to the ABiH: the Black Flights to TuzlaAt 17.45 on 10 February 1995, the Norwegian Captain Ivan Moldestad, a Norwegian helicopterdetachment (NorAir) pilot, stood in the doorway of his temporary accommodation just outside Tuzla.It was dark, and suddenly he heard the sound of the propellers of an approaching transport aircraft; itwas unmistakably a four engine Hercules C-130. Moldestad noticed that the Hercules was beingescorted by two jet fighters, but could not tell their precise type in the darkness.There were other sightings of this secretive night-time flight to Tuzla Air Base (TAB). A sentrywho was on guard duty outside the Norwegian medical UN unit in Tuzla also heard and saw the lightsof the Hercules and the accompanying jet fighters. Other UN observers, making use of night visionequipment, also saw the cargo aircraft and the fighter planes concerned. The reports were immediatelyforwarded to the NATO Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Vicenza and the UNPF DenyFlight Cell in Naples. When Moldestad phoned Vicenza, he was told that there was nothing in the airthat night, and that he must be mistaken. When Moldestad persisted, the connection was broken.The secretive C-130 cargo aircraft flights and night-time arms drops on Tuzla caused greatagitation within UNPROFOR and the international community in February and March 1995. Whenasked, a British general responded with great certainty to the question of the origin of the secretsupplies via TAB: ‘They were American arms deliveries. No doubt about that. And American privatecompanies were involved in these deliveries.’ 767 This was no surprising answer, because this general hadaccess to intelligence gathered by a unit of the British Special Air Services (SAS) in Tuzla. The aircrafthad come within range of this unit’s special night vision equipment, and the British saw them land. 768 Itwas a confirmation that a clandestine American operation had taken place in which arms, ammunitionand military communication equipment were supplied to the ABiH. These night-time operations led tomuch consternation within the UN and NATO, and were the subject of countless speculations. Thequestion is whether the British general was right in his allegation that these were Americanconsignments, and who was involved in these supplies on the Bosnian side.The Bosnian connection: the Cengic familyIt would seem likely that Bosnian intelligence services played a role in such supplies. They were closelyconnected with the Cengic family, who were described by Western intelligence services as ‘Mafia’. Thefamily was based in Visoko. 769 It controlled this region entirely through its own militias. Before the war,the Cengic family already had connections in Europe and the Middle East, and owned countlesscompanies in Turkey and Croatia. When the war broke out, the Cengic family proved capable ofsidestepping the international embargo and of equipping the ABiH with arms and ammunition.766 MoD, Archive Bstas. Aftermath, HMIS Kok to Minister, no. DIS/95/12.13/1286, 31/05/95.767 Confidential interview (87).768 Interview with H. Nicolai, 11/06/99.769 This profile is based on: MoD, MIS/CO, File 438-0190, Box 307, The Bosnian civil intelligence service AID, 07/05/97;MIS profile of Hasan Cengic, undated, and John Pomfret, ‘Bosnian Officials Involved in Arms Trade Tied to RadicalStates’, Washington Post, 22/09/96.