after the serb takeover of prijedor, the population of kozarac tried to control the perimeter of their town and organized patrols. after the attack on hambarine, another ultimatum was issued for the town of kozarac. radmilo željaja delivered the ultimatum on radio prijedor, threatening to raze kozarac to the ground if residents failed to comply. following the ultimatum, negotiations took place between the bosniak and the serb sides which were unsuccessful. stojan župljanin, later accused of war crimes by icty and one of the most wanted fugitive besides radovan karadžić and ratko mladić, who led the serb delegation, said that, unless his conditions were met, the army would take kozarac by force. as of may 21, 1992, the serb inhabitants of kozarac started to leave the town. kozarac was subsequently surrounded and the phone lines were disconnected. on the night of 22 and 23 may 1992, detonations could be heard in the direction of prijedor and fires could be seen in the area of hambarine.