On 1 May 1992, Serbians in the area declared Skelani to be a Serbian village. On 7 May it fell into the hands of Serbian forces. All Muslims in the area were ordered to give up their firearms, mainly hunting rifles and the like. On 8 May the removal of the village's Muslim population began. Serbians wearing Chetnik garb came into Vahida Selimovic's house and shot all the male adults. The women were transferred to Novi Pazar. A Bosnian Muslim woman Fatima reported how when shooting began they were surrounded and could not escape. The Serbians entered the village four hours later and immediately began setting houses on fire, looking for men and executing them. "When they got to our house, they ordered us to come out with hands raised above our heads, including the children. There were four men among us, and they shot them in front of us. ... I saw another six men killed nearby." She and other women and children were taken to the police station where they were insulted but not physically harmed before being transported out of Bosnia. (p. 257, War Crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Volume II. New York: Helsinki Watch. Human Rights Watch, 1993)