Omer I. LIVNJAK 

OMER LIVNJAK, son of IBRAHIM, born on October 26, 1923* in Vitina near Ljubuški. He received education and lived in Mostar, working as a locksmith. He became a member of the League of Communist Youth (SKOJ) in 1941 and joined KPJ in 1942. He was part of the Bataljon since the beginning of 1942, serving as a squad commander. He survived the Chetnik coup in Bijela in 1942 when he was captured during an attack and taken to prison in Konjic along with other fighters. However, he was saved in an operation carried out by Mehmed Meha Trbonja and several other fighters. He was killed in Vlahovići near Ljubinje on August 6, 1944.

Regarding the Chetnik coup:

“Through established communication with Konjic, we were informed that a group of fighters, captured after the Chetnik coup, is held in the District prison in Konjic. It was immediately decided to send a group to liberate them. Skilled craftsmen for such actions were selected in Mostar: MEHMED TRBONJA, the group leader, SAFET ALAGIĆ, the guide, MUSTAFA ĆEMALOVIĆ ĆIMBA, ABDULAH LUGIĆ, and HASAN ZAHIROVIĆ LACA. (…) The group set off towards Konjic, crossed the Neretva at night, and arrived beneath the prison walls. Alagić and Laca found ladders in the sheet metal and locksmith shop of Omer Begtašević and returned to their comrades. Meha, Laca, and Safet used the ladders to climb the high wall and enter the prison courtyard. They entered the open corridor and began prying open the door to the first room, where Hiba, Safet Alagić’s wife, was. They asked her where the others were, and she replied that they were in neighboring rooms. They immediately helped Hiba over the wall and out of the prison. The adjacent room was open, and inside, Konjic SKOJ members were sleeping under blankets. Seeing them under the blankets, Trbonja said, ‘They are not ours as long as they have blankets, let them sleep.’ The prisoners in the jail were: MUHAMED BOSTANDŽIĆ, MUSTAFA GRABOVAC, OMER LIVNJAK, ENES ORMAN, and STJEPAN PAVLOVIĆ. After crossing over the wall, a column was formed. When they had moved away from the prison enough, the guard fired shots as a signal of alarm. They crossed the Neretva and arrived at the Bataljon at dawn. There was a true explosion of joy, hugging, and kissing. We all rejoiced in the success of the operation and congratulated the liberators. The successful operation brought liveliness among the fighters and was long remembered as an example of comradeship and selflessness.”

Circumstances of Omer Livnjak’s death:

“At night, on the 7th/8th, with two battalions, the 13th Brigade launched a counter-attack on the enemy’s flanks, broke through and pursued them to Stolac. However, they did not notice the passage of the main force towards Sitnica, and by the time they became aware of it, it was already late. In the battles, which lasted almost 48 hours with minor interruptions, the 13th Brigade and the South Herzegovina People’s Liberation Detachment inflicted significant losses on the enemy (about a hundred casualties*’). Although they did not manage to prevent the enemy’s passage, they slowed down their movement by 2 days and tired them out. The motorized units and a large part of the artillery had to turn back and take a much longer detour. Additionally, the enemy’s hope of using this shortest communication route for supply and further reinforcement of troops on the front line was shattered. The Brigade lost two excellent leaders, Omer Livnjak, the platoon commander in the First Battalion, and Vasilj Čorlija, the squad leader in the Fourth Battalion, and three more fighters were wounded. The South Herzegovina People’s Liberation Detachment also had three wounded and one captured fighter.”

*according to the data in the book “Spomenica Mostara 1941-1945.”