[2] At the beginning of the World War II in Yugoslavia, Vlasenica and all of eastern Bosnia along with Sandžak in Serbia, became part of the Independent State of Croatia.
[4] During the summer 1941 the genocide against Serbs in eastern Bosnia achieved wider scale in the region of Vlasenica, Birč and Zvornik.
[6] The commander of local Ustaše forces was Mutevelić, a carpet salesman who already regularly visited Vlasenica before the war.
[7] He organized daily persecutions of prominent Serbs who were transported to improvised prison in Vlasenica and killed there or in Rašića Gaj.
[19] The testimonies about the cruel slaughter of Serbs in Rašića Gaj spread among the population of the region, causing fear and anger.