The area near the Konjic is believed to have been settled up to 4,000 years ago, and settlements around 2,000 years ago by Illyrian tribes travelling upstream along the Neretva river have been found.[1] Konjic was earliest recorded by name in the records of the Republic of Ragusa on 16 June 1382.[2]

The town, part of the Bosnian kingdom, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, of which the lasting feature for the town (apart from the many mosques and bringing of Islamic faith) is the Ottoman-inspired bridge Stara Ćuprija which features in the town's coat of arms, and later into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[citation needed]

After World War I, the town, along with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes later renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. During World War II, the town became part of the Independent State of Croatia, and following the war joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Between 1953 and 1979, a 611 square-metre atomic bunker, dug 300 metres into a mountain, known as ARK, was built secretly by the government in the Konjic municipality.[3]

The town grew significantly and prospered as a vibrant, multi-ethnic town with good transportation links (the town is on the railway between Sarajevo and the Adriatic Sea), the large Igman ammunition factory and Yugoslav Army barracks. These factors became one of the main reasons for the town’s conflict in the 1990s.[citation needed]

During conflict in Yugoslavia, Konjic municipality was of strategic importance as it contained important communication links from Sarajevo to southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several important military facilities were contained in Konjic, including the Igman arms and ammunition factory, the JNA Ljuta barracks, the Reserve Command Site of the JNA, the Zlatar communications and telecommunications centre, and the Celebici barracks and warehouses.[4]

Although the Konjic municipality did not have a majority Serb population and was not part of the declared "Serb autonomous regions", in March 1992, the self-styled "Serb Konjic Municipality" adopted a decision on the Serbian territories. The SDS, in co-operation with the JNA, had also been active in arming the Serb population of the municipality and in training paramilitary units and militias.[4] Konjic was included in those areas claimed by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the "Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia", despite the fact that the Croats did not constitute a majority of the population there either (just a quarter of population in 1991, as the municipality was mixed). Croatian units (known as the HVO) were established and armed in the municipality by April 1992.[4]

Following the international recognition of the independent Bosnia and Herzegovina and the walk-out of SDS representatives from the Municipal Assembly a War Assembly was formed to take charge of the defence of the municipality. Between 20 April and early May 1992 Bosnian government forces seized control over most of the strategic assets of the Municipality and some armaments. However, Serb forces controlled the main access points to the municipality, effectively cutting it off from outside supply.[4] Bosniaks and Croats began to arrive in the city of Konjic from surrounding villages, while Serb inhabitants moved to Serb-controlled villages.[5]

On 4 May 1992, the first shells landed in Konjic town, fired by the JNA and other Serb forces from the slopes of Borasnica and Kisera.[4] This shelling, which continued daily for over three years, until the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, inflicted substantial damage and resulted in the loss of many lives as well as rendering conditions for the surviving population even more unbearable. With the town swollen from the influx of refugees, there was a great shortage of accommodation as well as food and other basic necessities.[4]

Charitable organisations attempted to supply the local people with enough food but all systems of production foundered or were destroyed. It was not until August or September of that year that convoys from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) managed to reach the town, and all communications links were cut off with the rest of the State.[4] A clear priority for the Konjic authorities was the de-blocking of the routes to Sarajevo and Mostar. This objective required that the Serbian forces holding Bradina and Donje Selo, as well as those at Borci and other strategic points, be disarmed. Initially, an attempt was made at negotiation with the SDS and other representatives of the Serb people in Bradina and Donje Selo. This did not, however, achieve success for the Konjic authorities and plans were made for the launching of military operations by the Joint Command.[4]

The first area to be targeted was the village of Donje Selo. On 20 May 1992 forces of the TO and HVO entered the village. Bosnian government soldiers moved through Viniste towards the villages of Cerići and Bjelovčina. Cerići, which was the first shelled, was attacked around 22 May and some of its inhabitants surrendered. The village of Bjelovčina was also attacked around that time. According to witnesses heard by the ICTY, the Serb-populated village of Bradina was shelled in the late afternoon and evening of 25 May and then soldiers in both camouflage and black uniforms appeared, firing their weapons and setting fire to buildings. Many of the population sought to flee and some withdrew to the centre of the village. These people were, nonetheless, arrested at various times around 27 and 28 May, by TO, HVO and MUP soldiers and police.[4] The village of Bradina was burned to the ground and at least 43 or 48 Serb civilians were killed.[6][7]

These military operations resulted in the arrest of many members of the Serb population and it was thus necessary to create a facility where they could be imprisoned and questioned about their role in the siege of Konjic. The former JNA Čelebići compound was chosen out of necessity as the appropriate facilities for the detention of prisoners in Konjic. The majority of the prisoners who were detained between April and December 1992 were men, captured during and after the military operations at Bradina and Donje Selo and their surrounding areas. At the end of May, several groups were transferred to the Čelebići prison camp from various locations.[4] Most of them were civilians.[8] Many were elderly or infirm.[9] From the camp's establishment to its closure, detainees were subjected to murder, beatings, torture, sexual assaults and otherwise cruel and inhumane treatment.[5] Two women who were kept in the camp were also raped.[4]

In its judgement in the Delalić case the ICTY sentenced camp deputy commander Hazim Delić, guard Esad Landžo, and commander Zdravko Mucić 20 years, 15 years and 7 years respectively for their roles in the crimes committed at the camp while Zejnil Delalić was acquitted.[4] In 2017, Bosnian prosecutors charged former members of the Bosnian Army with crimes against humanity against Serbs, with the aim of expelling them from Konjic and surrounding villages in May 1992.[10][11]