the column walked one behind the other, following the paper trail laid down by a de-mining unit. The column was led by a group of 50–100 of the best soldiers from each brigade, carrying the best available equipment. Elements of the 284th Brigade were followed by the 280th Brigade, with them the Chief of Staff Ramiz Bećirović. Civilians accompanied by other soldiers followed, and at the back was the independent battalion which was part of the 28th Division. The command and armed men were at the front of the column, following the deminer unit. Others in the column included the political leaders of the enclave, medical staff of the local hospital and the families of prominent persons in Srebrenica. A small number of women, children and elderly travelled with the column in the woods. The column was between 12 and 15 kilometers long, about two and a half hours separating head from tail. The breakout from the enclave and the attempt to reach Tuzla came as a surprise to the VRS and caused considerable confusion, as the VRS had expected the men to go to Potočari. Serb general Milan Gvero in a briefing referred to members of the column as "hardened and violent criminals who will stop at nothing to prevent being taken prisoner and to enable their escape into Bosnian territory". The Drina Corps and the various brigades were ordered by the VRS Main Staff to assign all available manpower to the task of finding any Muslim groups observed, preventing them from crossing into Muslim territory, taking them prisoner and holding them in buildings that could be secured by small forces. Ambush at Kamenica Hill During the night, poor visibility, fear of mines and panic induced by artillery fire split the column in two. On the afternoon of 12 July, the front section emerged from the woods and crossed the asphalt road from Konjević Polje and Nova Kasaba. Around 18.00 hours, the VRS Army located the main part of the column still in the hilly area around Kamenica (outside the village of Pobuđe). Around 20:00 hours this part of the column, led by the municipal authorities and the wounded, started descending Kamenica Hill () towards the road. After a few dozen men had crossed, soldiers of the VRS Army arrived from the direction of Kravica in trucks and armoured vehicles including a white vehicle with UNPROFOR symbols, calling out