the ARBiH, which had even supplied him with six tanks for a final confrontation with Prazina. Ališpago tricked Prazina into sending over his troops under the pretense of helping with preparations for the offensive. When Prazina's men arrived at Ališpago's base, they were either captured or executed. By the time Prazina realized he was facing a trap, it was too late. Ališpago's forces initiated an offensive and Prazina was forced to retreat and flee Mt. Igman. Activities in Herzegovina During his time on Mt. Igman, Prazina had established formal ties with the HVO through Bosnian Croat warlord Mladen "Tuta" Naletilić and, following the Bosnian government's decision to relieve him of his ARBiH commands, aligned himself with Naletilić's "Convicts Battalion" paramilitary unit. Not content with this state of affairs and wishing to fight under a recognized army, Prazina asked to be formally incorporated into the HVO on 14 December. Initially the HVO denied his request by stating that they had nothing to gain from having a presence on Igman, but by the latter half of his stay on the mountain his eventual transfer to the HVO was considered imminent. In trying to convince his closest officers to join him on Igman he had revealed his intentions of joining the HVO and their willingness to accept him; revelations which played a role in their refusal to follow him. Despite this lack of support from his former comrades, the consequences of his defeat at the hands of Zuka and the ARBiH made HVO held territory in Herzegovina a logical destination for Prazina. The HVO authorities appointed Prazina head of their Special Forces and assigned him to guard over the Sarajevo-Mostar corridor near the hydroelectric power plant Salakovac in northern Herzegovina. There he routinely stopped and maltreated passing Bosniaks; particularly those that hailed from Sarajevo or Sandžak. Following the start of the Bosniak-Croat conflict that spring, the HVO launched a major offensive in Mostar on 9 May 1993. Prior to the conflict, the population of Mostar (the major urban center of Herzegovina) was nearly evenly split among the two peoples. With the battle front running down the city's main boulevard, the HVO set out to ethnically cleanse the western side of town under their control. Prazina and his unit, sent down from their previous post, were responsible for carrying out the bulk of this operation. Prazina justified his actions by branding the expelled Bosniak