Ismet Popovac Dr . Ismet Popovac ( died 21 August 1943 ) was a Bosnian Muslim military commander who led a Muslim Chetnik militia known as the Muslim People ' s Military Organization ( , MNVO ) in Bosnia and Herzegovina during World War II . A physician and lawyer by profession , he was the mayor of the town of Konjic prior to the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 . That year , he joined the Chetnik movement of Draža Mihailović . As a proponent of Bosnian Muslim collaboration with the Chetniks , Popovac suggested that the Chetniks recruit Muslims into their ranks . In October 1942 , he enlisted Italian aid in fighting the Yugoslav Partisans , and later visited Prozor to discourage further bloodshed after a Chetnik massacre took the lives of 543 – 2 , 500 Muslim and Croat civilians . In early 1943 he led an attack against a Muslim village , before being killed by either the Partisans , Chetniks , or an assassin in the vicinity of the town of Trebinje later that year . Early life . From the Herzegovinian town of Nevesinje , Ismet Popovac was a physician and lawyer by profession . He finished medical school in Belgrade and was a vocal supporter of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during this time . Prior to the outbreak of World War II he was a member of the pro - Serb and pro - monarchy cultural society known as " Gajret " , whose members were often persecuted by non - Serbs because of their political inclinations . Popovac was also the mayor of the Bosnian town of Konjic , and allegedly a candidate for Vladko Maček ' s electoral list , but was left without a job in the state government after the creation of the Banovina of Croatia . Joining the Chetniks . On 6 April 1941 , Axis forces invaded Yugoslavia . Poorly equipped and poorly trained , the Royal Yugoslav Army was quickly defeated . Afterwards , Yugoslavia was dismembered , with Serbia being reduced to its pre - 1912 borders and placed under a government of German military occupation . Milan Nedić , a pre - war politician who was known to have pro - Axis leanings , was then selected by the Germans to lead the collaborationist Government of National Salvation in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia . Meanwhile , the extreme Croat nationalist and fascist Ante Pavelić , who had been in exile in Benito Mussolini ' s Italy , was appointed " Poglavnik " ( leader ) of an Ustaše - led Croatian state – the Independent State of Croatia ( often called the NDH , from the ) . The NDH combined almost all of modern - day Croatia , all of modern - day Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of modern - day Serbia into an " Italian - German quasi - protectorate . " NDH authorities , led by the Ustaše militia , subsequently implemented genocidal policies against the Serb , Jewish and Roma population living within the borders of the new state . As a result , two resistance movements emerged – the royalist and Serb Chetniks , led by Colonel Draža Mihailović , and the multi - ethnic , Communist Yugoslav Partisans , led by Josip Broz Tito . That year , Popovac and fellow Muslim leader Mustafa Pašić joined the Chetniks . Popovac hoped to achieve independence for Bosnia and Herzegovina through his cooperation and , according to one Serb Chetnik , his " main goal was to protect the Muslims , rather than to struggle for the Serb nation and Serb affairs . " He later wrote to Mihailović , suggesting that Bosnian Muslims be recruited into the Chetnik ranks . This proposal was met with support from pro - Serb , anti - Communist Muslim leaders in several Bosnian towns . However , as more Muslims began joining the Partisans , the Chetniks increasingly began considering Muslims to be their enemies . Chetnik atrocities against Muslim civilians subsequently increased in the late spring of 1941 . Due to these actions , and due to Muslims , especially those in eastern Bosnia , being branded by the Chetniks as " Turks " and " Ustaše cronies , " the Chetniks found few Muslim recruits . Muslim People ' s Military Organization . In late 1942 , a Muslim Chetnik militia known as the Muslim People ' s Military Organization ( , MNVO ) was formed in Herzegovina following a meeting between Popovac and Bosnian Serb Chetnik leaders Dobroslav Jevđević and Petar Baćović . The militia was placed under the control of Popovac , Fekim Musakadić and Mustafa Pašić . It was part of a greater Muslim autonomist circle and in September 1942 an assembly of Herzegovinian Muslim notables in Mostar declared : " We Herzegovinians and Bosnians are nobody ' s property and we recognize the right of nobody to persecute us ; so , insofar as our brothers in Zagreb do not wish to accede to our demands , we shall seek protection of our interests from other big powers from the ranks of our allies . " In October of that year , Popovac enlisted Italian aid in fighting the Yugoslav Partisans . This resulted in the establishment of a Bosnian Muslim quisling force that operated as part of the Anti - Communist Volunteer Militia . It was reported that Popovac had " won the majority of the Muslims to his purpose " in the Mostar , Konjic , Nevesinje and Gacko districts . Eventually , he came to be seen as one of " the principal representatives of the pro - Chetnik Muslim current " in Bosnia . That October , during Operation Alfa , a joint Chetnik – Italian attack against the Partisans , the Chetniks massacred 543 – 2 , 500 Muslim and Croat civilians in Prozor . Several days later , Popovac arrived in the town to console the Bosnian Muslim population and to advise the Chetniks there against committing further atrocities . While there , he also attempted to convince local Muslims to join the Chetnik ranks , but was unsuccessful due to the extent of Chetnik atrocities against the Muslim population . On 31 December , in face of widespread Muslim opposition to the Chetniks ' genocidal nature , Popovac and his MNVO declared a resolution in Kalinovik , vowing allegiance to King Petar II and Mihailović , and claiming Bosnian Muslims as " an integral part of Serbdom " and the MNVO as " part of the Chetnik movement led by Draža Mihailović , Minister of the Army , Navy and Air Forces . " In January 1943 , Popovac led an attack which resulted in the capture of a Muslim village that was guarded by a large force of Muslim volunteers . That same month more Chetnik massacres against Muslims were carried out , especially in east Bosnia in the areas of Koraj , Bijeljina , Srebrenica , Višegrad , Foča , Goražde , Vlasenica , and around the Drina river . His militia cooperated with Chetnik units in fighting the Partisans during the Axis - led Case White operation in January to March 1943 , but did not distinguish itself . During the operation itself Chetniks continued their efforts to exterminate the Muslims . Nonetheless , Popovac and Pašić continued seeking Muslim recruits . They declared in their " Address to the Brethren Muslims of Čajniče and Other Nearby Districts " that the main goal of the Chetniks was " the intelligent and honest protection of Muslim interests " and " securing a safe future for our people with the highest principles of Islam : freedom of religion , holiness of the family , respect for private property , social justice , and democratic political freedom . " Furthermore , they dismissed the claim that Muslims were collectively responsible for Ustaše crimes and said " Muslims are bound to the brethren of the Orthodox religion by blood and land . " Death and legacy . Popovac was killed on 21 August 1943 . Sources vary on the circumstances of his death , with Dr . Marko Attila Hoare stating that he was killed by members of the Partisan 10th Herzegovinan Brigade , Professor Jozo Tomasevich writing that he was " killed by an assassin , " and Zdravko Dizdar and Mihael Sobolevski claiming that he was killed by the Chetniks in the vicinity of Trebinje after objecting to the killing of Muslims . By December 1943 , it was estimated that 4 , 000 of Mihailović ' s Chetniks were Bosnian Muslims . This number accounted for eight percent of all of Mihailović ' s soldiers . In 1944 , Mihailović appealed to the Muslims to fight against the Communists , citing the example of Popovac and other Muslim Chetniks .