between the 24 and 25 july 1992, bosnian serb forces attacked the predominantly croat village of , near prijedor. according to the 1991 consensus, briševo had a population of 340 people, by ethnicity, 305 croats, 16 yugoslavs, 7 serbs, 1 bosniak and 11 others. violence against ethnic bosniaks and croats in towns and villages around prijedor had been increasing since may 1992, on the 30 may 1992, serbian-controlled radio-prijedor proclaimed the creation of a "crisis staff of the serb municipality of prijedor", that serb forces had already began an "armed attack on the city of prijedor" and that serbs were fighting against ustashe-muslim forces", which further contributed to the atmosphere of hostility between the ethnic groups. on 31 may 1992, serb authorities issued an ultimatum to the inhabitants of briševo to hand over all weapons, promising the local population would not be harmed if they did, although local croat leaders complied, serb forces entered the village that day and arrested prominent croats and those suspected of supporting the hdz, these individuals were then taken to internment camps near sanski most. on 24 july 1992, serb forces of the 5th kozara brigade from prijedor and the 6th krajina brigade from sanski most shelled the village at 9:00 am and then moved into the village by foot. there serb forces began a two-day massacre, burning homes and property and murdering croat civilians wherever they were found, many croatian women were raped before being killed and some victims were even forced to dig their own graves before being killed. serb forces murdered some 67 croat civilians, destroyed 65 family homes including the village catholic church, those who were not killed were driven out. during the icty trials, milomir stakić was found guilty of persecution, deportation and extermination against non-serbs in the prijedor region, which included the killings in briševo.