The early 1990s saw the existence of a western "Muslim" enclave held by Bosnian government forces under the leadership of the ARBiH commander, Atif Dudaković.

In 1993 Fikret Abdić, once the president of the Agrokomerc company, decided to carve out a little state for himself and succeeded in recruiting enough followers to make his dream a reality.

"[2] Talking to his autonomist followers was much the same as speaking with cult converts anywhere in the world: a wooden dead-end dialogue hallmarked by the absence of individual rationale and logic.Even though it was totally surrounded by Serbian forces and constantly harassed by Abdić's followers, the western enclave protected by the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (five infantry brigades strong) was able to hold its own and achieve some success partly thanks to the leadership of Atif Dudaković.

In total secrecy, Hamdija approached Fikret Abdić as a dissatisfied military commander willing to sell his services and treachery to him for the right price.

Hamdija promptly informed Dudaković, who ordered that all aid workers be confined to quarters and that large fires be started using piles of tires to create the illusion of burning buildings.

[1] Fikret Abdić and his Serbian backers, watching from a distance, saw the smoke and heard the gunfire while listening to rattled aid workers yelling over their radio channels for extraction.

The Serbian VRS and SVK turned out Fikret Abdić in a rage, and what was left of his demoralized forces had to face an attack by Dudaković's strengthened 5th Corps.