Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ground Zero (talk | contribs) at 03:47, 11 January 2011 (various clean up). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Fix bunching

Croatian War of Independence
Part of the Yugoslav Wars
ZagrebOsijekB.ManastirVukovarErdutVinkovciŽupanjaSlavonski BrodPakracMaslenicaKarlovacOgulinOtočacDubrovnikKonavlePrevlakaSplitŠibenikZadarSisakPetrinjaPlitviceGospićKninPeruća DamOkučaniBihaćBanja LukaCroatian controlledSerb controlledBosniak controlled Occupied areas in Croatia in January 1992
Date March 1991 – November 1995 Location Croatia Result Croatian victory Croatian forces regain control over most of RSK-held Croatian territory; Croatian forces rapidly advance into Serb-held regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina forcing the start of the Dayton negotiations. Territorial changes The Croatian government gains control over the vast majority of Croatian territory previously held by rebel Serbs, with the remaineder coming under UNTAES control.
Belligerents
1991-1992: Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav People's Army (Serb-controlled remnant) Republic of Serbian Krajina	1991-1992: Croatia
1992–1994: Republic of Serbian Krajina Republika Srpska	1992–1994:  Croatia
1994-1995: Republic of Serbian Krajina Republika Srpska AP Western Bosnia	1994–1995:  Croatia Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Slobodan Milošević (President of Serbia) Milan Babić (President of RS Krajina) Milan Martić (President of RS Krajina) Mile Mrkšić (Army of RS Krajina Chief of Staff) Yugoslav People's Army Ratko Mladić (Yugoslav People's Army Colonel General) Fikret Abdić (Commander of AP Western Bosnia)	Franjo Tuđman (President of Croatia) Gojko Šušak (Minister of Defence) Anton Tus (HV Chief of Staff 1991-1992) Janko Bobetko (HV Chief of Staff 1992-1995) Zvonimir Červenko (HV Chief of Staff 1995-1996) Atif Dudaković (Commander, 5th Corps ARBiH 1995)
Casualties and losses
Serbian sources: 8,039 killed or missing 5,603+ combatants (RSK: 4,324+ JNA: 1,279+) 2,344+ civilians 447,316 displaced International sources: 300,000 displaced	Croatian sources: 13,583 killed or missing (10,668 confirmed killed, 2,915 "missing") 37,180 wounded or 12,000+ killed or missing or 15,970 killed or missing 8,147 soldiers 6,605 civilians 1,218 missing UNHCR: 221,000 displaced (2006) 196,000 displaced (1995) 500,000 refugees (1991)
About 20,000 killed on both sides

Template:Fix bunching

Template:Fix bunching

Template:Fix bunching

The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995, between the forces loyal to the government of Croatia, which declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and both the Serbia-controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and local Serb forces, with the former ending combat operations in Croatia by 1992. In Croatian, the war is primarily referred to as the Homeland War (Template:Lang-hr) and also as Greater-Serbian aggression (Template:Lang-hr). In the Serbian language, the phrase War in Croatia (Template:Lang-sr) is the most common name.

Initially, the war was waged between Croatian police forces and Serbs living in the Yugoslav Republic of Croatia. As the JNA came under increasing Serbian influence in Belgrade, many of its units began assisting the Serbs fighting in Croatia. The Croatian side aimed to establish a sovereign country outside Yugoslavia, and the Serbs, supported by Serbia, opposed the secession and wanted to remain a part of Yugoslavia, effectively seeking new boundaries in Croatia with a Serb majority or significant minority, or by conquering as much of Croatia as possible. The goal was primarily to remain in the same state with the rest of the Serbian nation, which was interpreted as an attempt to form a "Greater Serbia" by Croats (and Bosniaks). The ICTY also condemned a "widespread and systematic campaign of crimes against non-Serbs inhabiting areas in Croatia" in its later verdict of Serbian leader Milan Martić who colluded with Slobodan Milošević and others to create a "unified Serbian state".

At the beginning of the war, the JNA tried to forcefully keep Croatia in Yugoslavia by occupying the whole of Croatia. After failure of doing so, Serbian forces established the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) within Croatia. By the end of 1991, most of Croatia was gravely affected by war, with numerous cities and villages heavily damaged in combat operations, and the rest supporting hundreds of thousands of refugees. After the final ceasefire of January 1992 and the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia as a sovereign state, the front lines were entrenched, UNPROFOR was deployed, and combat became largely intermittent in the following three years. In 1995, Croatia finally launched two major offensives known as Operation Flash and Operation Storm, which would effectively end the war in its favor. The remaining UNTAES zone was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia by 1998.

The war ended with the total Croatian victory, as Croatia achieved goals declared at the beginning of the war: independence and preservation of its borders. However, much of Croatia was devastated with estimates ranging from 21-25% of its economy destroyed. The total number of deaths on both sides was around 20,000, and there were refugees on both sides displaced at some point: Croats mostly at the beginning of the war, and Serbs mostly at the end. While many people returned, and Croatia and Serbia progressively cooperated more with each other on all levels, some displeasure from both sides occurs because of verdicts by ICTY and a mutual lawsuit.

Background

Rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia

The war in Croatia resulted from the rise of nationalism in the 1980s which slowly led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. A crisis emerged in Yugoslavia with the weakening of the Communist states in Eastern Europe towards the end of the Cold War, as symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In Yugoslavia, the national communist party, officially called the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, had lost its ideological potency.

In the 1980s, Albanian secessionist movements in the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, Socialist Republic of Serbia, led to the repression of the Albanian majority in the Serbia's southern province. The more prosperous republics of SR Slovenia and SR Croatia wanted to move towards decentralization and democracy. Serbia, headed by Slobodan Milošević, adhered to centralism and single-party rule through the Yugoslav Communist Party. Milošević effectively ended the autonomy of the Kosovo and Vojvodina autonomous provinces.

As Slovenia and Croatia began to seek greater autonomy within the federation, including confederate status and even full independence, the nationalist ideas started to grow within the ranks of the still-ruling League of Communists. As Milošević rose to power in Serbia, his speeches favoured continuation of a unified Yugoslav state, but one in which all power would be centralized in Belgrade. In the Gazimestan speech delivered on June 28, 1989, he remarked on the current battles and quarrels saying that even though those are not armed battles, such things as armed battle should not be excluded yet. The general political situation grew more tense when future Serbian Radical Party president Vojislav Šešelj visited the United States in 1989 and was later awarded a honorary title of "Vojvoda" (duke) by Momčilo Đujić, a World War II Chetnik leader, during a commemoration of the Battle of Kosovo. Years later, Milan Babić (Croatian Serb leader) testified that Momčilo Đujić had financially supported the Serbs in Croatia in the 1990s.

In March 1989, the crisis in Yugoslavia deepened after the adoption of amendments to the Serbian constitution. This allowed the Serbian republic's government to re-assert effective power over the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. Before this point, a number of political decisions were legislated from within these provinces. They also had a vote on the Yugoslav federal presidency level (six members from the republics and two members from the autonomous provinces). Serbia, under president Slobodan Milošević, gained control over three out of eight votes in the Yugoslav presidency, and this was used on May 16, 1991, when the Serbian parliament exchanged Riza Sapunxhiu and Nenad Bućin, representatives of Kosovo and Vojvodina, for Jugoslav Kostić and Sejdo Bajramović. The fourth vote was provided by Montenegro, whose government survived a coup d'état in October 1988, but not second in January 1989. Serbia, having secured 4 out of 8 federal presidency votes, was able to heavily influence the decisions of the federal government because unfavorable decisions could be blocked, thus rendering the body ineffective. This situation led to objections in other republics (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia) and calls for reform of the Yugoslav Federation.

Electoral and constitutional moves

The weakening of the communist regime allowed nationalism to spread its political presence, even within the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. In January 1990, the League of Communists broke up on the lines of the individual republics. At the 14th Extraordinary Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, on January 20, 1990, the delegations of the republics could not agree on the main issues in the Yugoslav federation. The Croatian and Slovenian delegations demanded a looser federation, while the Serbian delegation, headed by Milošević, opposed this. As a result, the Slovenian and Croatian delegates left the Congress.

The first free elections were then scheduled a few months later in Croatia and Slovenia. The first round of the elections in Croatia were held on April 22, and the second round on May 6. In 1989, a number of political parties had been founded, among them the Croatian Democratic Union (Template:Lang-hr) (HDZ), led by Franjo Tuđman. As the future leader of Croatia, Tuđman made international visits during the late 1980s in order to garner support from the Croatian diaspora for the Croatian national cause. The HDZ based its campaign on an aspiration for greater sovereignty of Croatia and on a general anti-Yugounitarist ideology, fueling the sentiment of Croats that "only the HDZ could protect Croatia from the aspirations of Serbian elements led by Slobodan Milošević towards a Greater Serbia". It topped the poll in the elections (followed by Ivica Račan's reformed communists, Social Democratic Party of Croatia) and formed a new Croatian Government.

A tense atmosphere prevailed in 1990, and especially so during the period immediately before the elections. It became evident on May 13, 1990, when a football game was held in Zagreb between Zagreb's Dinamo team and Belgrade's Crvena Zvezda team. The game erupted into violence, between groups of supporters and the police. Serbs occupied a disproportionate number of state posts throughout Yugoslavia, including in Croatia.

On 30 May 1990, the new Croatian Parliament held its first session. President Tuđman announced his manifesto for a new Constitution (ratified at the end of the year) and a multitude of political, economic, and social changes, notably to what extent minority rights (mainly for Serbs), would be guaranteed. Local Serb politicians opposed the new constitution on the grounds that the local Serb population would be threatened. Their prime concern was that a new constitution would not anymore designate Croatia a "national state of the Croatian people, a state of the Serbian people and any other people living in it" but a "national state of the Croatian people and any people living in it". After HDZ came to power, a part of Serbs from public administration, especially the police, lost their jobs and were replaced by Croats.

Important factors in Croatia's preservation of its pre-war borders were Yugoslav Federal Constitution Amendments of 1971, and the new Yugoslav Federal Constitution of 1974, as subsequently confirmed by opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee. The 1971 amendments introduced a concept that sovereign rights are exercised by the federal units, and that the federation has only the authority specifically transferred to it by the constitution. The 1974 constitution confirmed and strengthened principles introduced in 1971. The borders themselves were defined by demarcation commissions in 1947, pursuant to decisions of AVNOJ of 1943 and 1945 regarding federal organization of Yugoslavia.

On 22 December 1990, the Parliament of Croatia ratified the new constitution, changing the status of Serbs in Croatia from a "constituent nation" to a "national minority". The percentage of those declaring themselves as Serbs, according to the 1991 census, was 12% (78% of the population declared itself as Croats). This was read as taking away some of the rights from the Serbs granted by the previous Socialist constitution, thereby fueling extremism among the Serbs of Croatia. However, the constitution defined Croatia as "the national state of the Croatian nation and a state of members of other nations and minorities who are its citizens: Serbs... who are guaranteed equality with citizens of Croatian nationality....”

Civil unrest and demands for autonomy

The Serbs within Croatia did not initially seek independence before 1990. On July 25, 1990, a Serbian Assembly was established in Srb, north of Knin, as the political representation of the Serbian people in Croatia. The Serbian Assembly declared "sovereignty and autonomy of the Serb people in Croatia". On December 21, 1990, the SAO Krajina was proclaimed by the municipalities of the regions of Northern Dalmatia and Lika, in south-western Croatia. Article 1 of the Statute of the SAO Krajina defined the SAO Krajina as “a form of territorial autonomy within the Republic of Croatia” on which the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, state laws, and the Statute of the SAO Krajina were applied.

Following Tuđman's election and perceived threat from the new constitution, Serb nationalists in the Kninska Krajina region began taking armed action against Croatian government officials. Many were forcibly expelled or excluded from the SAO Krajina. Croatian government property throughout the region was increasingly controlled by local Serb municipalities or the newly established "Serbian National Council". This would later become the government of the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK).

In August 1990, an unrecognized mono-ethnic referendum was held in regions with a substantial Serb population which would later become known as the RSK (bordering western Bosnia and Herzegovina) on the question of Serb "sovereignty and autonomy" in Croatia. This was to counter the changes in the constitution. The Croatian government tried to block the referendum by sending police forces to police stations in Serb-populated areas to seize their weapons. Among other incidents, local Serbs from the southern hinterlands of Croatia, mostly around the city of Knin, blocked the roads to the tourist destinations in Dalmatia. This incident is known as the "Log revolution". Years later, during Milan Martić's trial, Milan Babić would claim that he was tricked by Martić into agreeing to the Log Revolution, and that it and the entire war in Croatia was Martić's responsibility, orchestrated by Belgrade. The statement was corroborated by Martić himself in an interview published in 1991. Babić also confirmed that by July 1991 Milošević took over the control of the Yugoslav People's Army. The Croatian government responded to the blockade of roads by sending special police teams in helicopters to the scene, but they were intercepted by SFR Yugoslav Air Force fighter jets and forced to turn back to Zagreb. The Serbs, who accuse the Croatian authorities of discrimination, felled pine trees or used bulldozers to block roads, sealing off towns like Knin and Benkovac near the Adriatic coast. On August 18, 1990, the Serbian newspaper Večernje Novosti said almost "two million Serbs were ready to go to Croatia to fight".

Immediately after the Slovenian referendum on independence and the new Croat constitution, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) announced that a new defense doctrine would apply across the country. The Josip Broz Tito-era doctrine of "General People's Defense", in which each republic maintained a Territorial defense force (Template:Lang-hr) (TO), would henceforth be replaced by a centrally-directed system of defense. The republics would lose their role in defense matters and their TOs would be disarmed and subordinated to JNA headquarters in Belgrade. Following the change of the doctrine, an ultimatum was issued, requesting disarming and disbanding of military forces considered illegal by the Yugoslav authorities. Since the original ultimatum did not specify which forces were considered illegal, the central Yugoslav authorities soon clarified that the request was actually aimed at official Croatian armed forces. Croatian authorities refused to comply, and six days after it was issued, the Yugoslav army withdrew the ultimatum at a Yugoslav presidency meeting.

Military forces

Serbian forces

The JNA was initially formed during World War II to carry out guerrilla warfare against Axis powers occupation. The success of the Partisan movement led to the JNA basing much of its operational strategy on guerrilla warfare as its plans normally entailed defending against NATO or Warsaw Pact attacks where other types of warfare would put JNA in a comparatively poor position. That approach led to maintenance of Territorial Defense system. On paper, the JNA looked like a powerful force with 2,000 tanks and 300 jet aircraft (all either Soviet or locally produced). However, by 1991, majority of this equipment was over 30 years old: it consisted substantially out of T-54/55 tank and the MiG-21 aircraft. Still, the JNA operated around 300 M-84 tanks (Yugoslav version of Soviet T-72) and a sizable fleet of ground-attack aircraft, such as Soko G-4 Super Galeb, Soko G-4 Super Galeb and most notably Soko J-22 Orao whose armaments included AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles. By contrast, more modern cheap anti-tank (like AT-5) and anti-aircraft (like SA-14) missiles were abundant and were designed to destroy much more advanced weaponry. Before the war the JNA had 169,000 regular troops, including 70,000 professional officers. The fighting in Slovenia brought about a great number of desertions, and the army responded by mobilization of Serbian reserve troops. Approximately 100,000 evaded the draft and new conscripts proved ineffective fighting force. As a result the JNA resorted to reliance on irregular militias. Thus paramilitary units like White Eagles, Serbian Guard, Dušan Silni or Serb Volunteer Guard, that committed numerous massacres against Croat and other non-Serbs civilians, became increasingly relied upon by the Yugoslav and Serb forces. With the retreat of the JNA forces in 1992, JNA units were reorganized as the Army of Serb Krajina, which was a direct heir to JNA organization with little improvement.

Croatian forces

By contrast to that force, Croatian military was in a much worse state. At the early stages of the war, lack of military units meant that the Croatian Police force would take the brunt of fighting — eventually the police would form the core of the new armed force — initially named "Croatian National Guard" (Template:Lang-hr), later "Croatian Army" (Template:Lang-hr) - that was formed on April 11, 1991, but not really developed until 1993. Weaponry was always lacking and many units were formed either unarmed or with WW2-era rifles. The Croatian Army had just a handful of tanks (even older WW2 veterans like the T-34) and its air-force was even worse: a few old Antonov An-2 biplane crop-dusters were converted to drop makeshift bombs. However, since the soldiers were defending their homeland and their families the army was exceptionally motivated, and was formed into local fighting units — so people from a village would defend their own village — which meant they were fairly effective in their home grounds.

In August 1991, the Croatian Army had fewer than 20 brigades, which would grow to 60 by the end of the year through general mobilization which was initiated in October. Seizing of JNA's barracks in the Battle of the barracks would slightly alleviate the problem of equipment shortage. By 1995, balance of power significantly changed. Serb forces in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina combined were estimated to be capable of fielding at most 130,000 troops. On the other hand, Croatian Army, Croatian Defence Council (Template:Lang-hr) (HVO) and Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina could field a combined force of 250,000 soldiers. In addition the three forces commanded a total of 570 tanks.

Course of the war

1991: Open hostilities begin

First armed incidents

"Croats became refugees in their own country."

Ethnic hatred grew and various incidents fueled the propaganda machines on both sides, thereby causing even more hatred. The conflict soon escalated into armed incidents in the majority-Serb populated areas. Serbs began a series of attacks on Croatian police units, killing more than 20 by the end of April. The Plitvice Lakes incident in late March 1991 stands out, with Josip Jović from Aržano being the first police officer killed by Serb forces. In April 1991, the Serbs within Croatia began to make serious moves to secede from that territory, that in turn seceded from Yugoslavia. It is a matter of debate to what extent this move was locally motivated and to what degree the Milošević-led Serbian government gave the push to self-declare. In any event, the Republic of Serbian Krajina was declared consisting of Croatian territory with a substantial Serb population — which the Croatian government saw as a rebellion.

The Croatian Ministry of the Interior consequently started arming an increasing amount of special police forces, and this led to the building of a real army. On 9 April 1991, Croatian President Franjo Tuđman ordered the special police forces to be renamed Zbor Narodne Garde ("National Guard"), marking the creation of a separate military of Croatia. The newly constituted military units were publicly displayed in a military parade and review held at Stadion Kranjčevićeva in Zagreb on May 28, 1991.

On May 15, Stjepan Mesić, a Croat, was scheduled to be the chairman of the rotating presidency of Yugoslavia. Serbia, aided by Kosovo, Montenegro and Vojvodina, whose presidency votes were at the time under Serbian control, upped the ante by blocking the move, otherwise seen as largely ceremonial. This maneuver technically left Yugoslavia without a head of state and without a commander-in-chief. Two days later, a repeated attempt to vote on the issue also failed, prompting the prime minister of Yugoslavia, Ante Marković, to propose appointing a panel which would wield presidential powers. It was not immediately clear who would the panel members be, apart from defense minister Veljko Kadijević, nor who would fill position of JNA commander-in-chief. The move was quickly rejected by Croatia as unconstitutional. The crisis was resolved after a six-week stalemate, and Stipe Mesić was voted in president of the presidency—the first non-communist to become Yugoslav head of state in decades. Meanwhile, the federal army, the JNA and the local Territorial Defense Forces remained led by Federal authorities controlled by Milošević. On occasion, the JNA sided with the local Croatian Serb forces.

Declaration of independence

On May 19, 1991, the Croatian authorities held a referendum on independence with the option of remaining in Yugoslavia as a looser union. Serb local authorities issued calls for a boycott, which were largely followed by Croatian Serbs, so the referendum was passed with 94% in favor. Croatia declared independence and dissolution (Template:Lang-hr) of its association with Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, but the European Commission urged Croatian authorities to place a three-month moratorium on the decision. Croatia subsequently agreed to freeze its independence declaration for three months, helping to ease tension a little.

One month after Croatia declared its independence, Yugoslav army and other Serb forces held approximately 30 percent of the country, mostly parts with a predominantly ethnic Serb population. They had obvious superiority in weaponry and equipment. The military strategy of the Yugoslav and Serbian forces partly consisted of extensive shelling, at times irrespective of civilians. As the war progressed, the cities of Dubrovnik, Gospić, Šibenik, Zadar, Karlovac, Sisak, Slavonski Brod, Osijek, Vinkovci and Vukovar all came under attack by the Yugoslav forces. The United Nations (UN) imposed a weapons embargo, which did not affect JNA-backed Serb forces significantly as they had JNA arsenal at their disposal, but caused serious trouble for the newly-formed Croatian army. This led the Croatian government to start smuggling weapons over its borders.

Ten-Day war in Slovenia

In June and July of 1991, the short armed conflict in Slovenia came to a speedy and fairly peaceful conclusion, partly because of the ethnic homogeneity of the population of Slovenia. During the war in Slovenia, a great number of Croatian and Slovenian soldiers refused to fight and deserted from the JNA. In July, in an attempt to salvage what remained of Yugoslavia, the JNA forces found themselves involved in operations against predominantly Croat areas—such as the Dalmatian coastal areas in the Battle of Dalmatia. Full-scale war erupted in August. As in Slovenia, where Croatian soldiers had refused to take part in the fight, with the start of military operations in Croatia, Croats, a number of Serbian conscripts likewise started to desert the JNA en masse (especially since some kind of ceasefire was agreed at the end of the War in Slovenia, and the alert level was lowered). Albanians and Macedonians started to search for a way to legally leave the JNA or serve their conscription term in Macedonia. In 1981, 60 % of the Yugoslav Army Non-commissioned officers and officer corps were Serbs, overrepresented by a factor of 1.51. Despite efforts to homogenize the military ethnically, the JNA officer corps was dominated by Serbs and Montenegrins. Serbs and Montenegrins collectively reflected 38.8 per cent of the Yugoslav population, but made up 70 per cent of the JNA officer corps by 1990.

Escalation of the conflict

In August 1991, the border city of Vukovar came under attack and the Battle of Vukovar began. Serbian troops eventually completely surrounded the city. The Croat population of Vukovar, Croatian troops including the 204th Vukovar Brigade, entrenched themselves within the city and held their ground against JNA elite Armoured and Mechanized brigades, as well as Serb paramilitary units. A certain number of ethnic Croatian civilians had taken shelter inside the city. Other elements of the civilian population fled the areas of armed conflict en masse. Death toll estimates for Vukovar, resulting from the siege, range from 1,798 to 5,000. Further 22,000 were exiled from Vukovar immediately after capture of the town.

There is evidence of extreme hardship imposed on the population at the time. Some estimates include 220,000 Croats and 300,000 Serbs internally displaced for the duration of the war in Croatia. However, at the peak of fighting in late 1991, around 550,000 people temporarily became refugees on the Croatian side alone. The 1991 census data and the 1993 RSK population data for the territory of Krajina differ by some 102,000 Serbs and 135,000 Croats. In many places, large numbers of civilians were forced out by the military. This was labeled ethnic cleansing, a term whose meaning at the time ranged from eviction to murder. It was at this time that the term ethnic cleansing first entered the English lexicon.

On 3 October the Yugoslav Navy began a blockade of the main ports of Croatia. The blockade was challenged by civilian ships and the confrontation culminated on November 14-16 during the Battle of the Dalmatian channels, when Croatian coastal and island based artillery damaged, sunk or captured (PB 62 Šolta, ex-Mukos PČ 176) a number of Yugoslav navy vessels. After the battle the Yugoslav naval operations were effectively limited to the southern Adriatic.

On October 5, president Tuđman made a speech in which he called upon the whole population to mobilize and defend against Greater-Serbian imperialism pursued by the Serb-led JNA, Serbian paramilitary formations and rebel Serb forces. On 7 October, an explosion occurred within the main government building in Zagreb while Tuđman, Mesić and Marković were present. The explosion destroyed several rooms of Banski dvori, but failed to kill any of the leaders. The government claimed that it was caused by a JNA air raid. Apparently, the Croatian army received the information from Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina JNA airfield the day before, about a top secret air mission being prepared for the next day, but these were not taken seriously due to lack of details. The JNA denied the responsibility and in turn claimed that the explosion was set up by the Croatian government itself. The next day, as a previously agreed three-month moratorium on implementation of the declaration of independence expired, the Croatian Parliament severed all remaining ties with Yugoslavia. October 8 is now celebrated as Croatia's Independence Day. The bombing of the government and the Siege of Dubrovnik that started in October were contributing factors to European Union (EU) sanctions against Serbia. However, focus of the international media on (and exaggeration of) damage to Dubrovnik's cultural heritage pushed concern with civilian casualties, and pivotal battles such as the one in Vukovar, out of public view. Nonetheless, the artillery attacks on Dubrovnik damaged 56% of its buildings to some degree, as the historic walled city, a UNESCO world heritage site, sustained 650 hits by artillery rounds.

In October and early November, the situation for Croats in Vukovar became ever more desperate as the JNA escalated the war. On November 18, 1991, Vukovar fell to the Serbs after a three-month siege and the Vukovar massacre took place, while the survivors were transported to prison camps such as Ovčara and Velepromet, the majority ending up in Sremska Mitrovica prison camp. The city of Vukovar was almost completely destroyed, as 15,000 houses were destroyed. During the 87 day long battle, the city was struck by 8,000 to 9,000 artillery shells every day, for a total of more than one million rounds. The sustained focus on a siege facilitated the attraction of heavy international media attention. Many international journalists were present at the time in or near Vukovar, as was the UN peace mediator, Cyrus Vance, former US President Carter's Secretary of State.

On December 19, the fighting increased, as Croatia won its first diplomatic recognition by a western nation—Iceland while the Serbian Autonomous Regions in Krajina and western Slavonia officially declared themselves the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Four days later, Germany also recognized Croatian independence, and on December 26, 1991, Serb-dominated federal presidency announced plans for a smaller Yugoslavia that could include the territory captured from Croatia during the war, in apparent realization that the Croatian independence was now irreversible. In early November 1991 the Croatian army began a successful counterattack in Western Slavonia, marking a turning point of the war. Operation Otkos 10, lasting from October 31 until November 4, resulted in Croatia recapturing 300 square kilometres (120 square miles) of area between Bilogora and Papuk mountains. Further advances were made in the second half of December—Operation Orkan 91—but at that point a lasting ceasefire was about to be signed (in January 1992). In the six months of fighting, 10,000 people had died, hundreds of thousands had fled, and tens of thousands of homes had been destroyed.

In the second half of 1991, all the Croatian democratic parties gathered together to form a government of national unity and to confront the JNA and the Serbian paramilitaries, with Franjo Gregurić as the prime minister and 16 out of 27 government posts filled by parliamentary opposition parties. Ceasefires were frequently signed, mediated by foreign diplomats, but also frequently broken. This was part of the tactics on both sides. The Croatians lost much territory, but profited by being able to expand the Croatian Army—from seven brigades it had at the time of the first ceasefire to 60 brigades and 37 independent battalions it had by December 31, 1991.

1992: Ceasefire

A new UN-sponsored ceasefire, the fifteenth one in just six months, was agreed on January 2, 1992 and it came into force the next day. After the series of unsuccessful ceasefires, the United Nations started to deploy a protection force in Serbian-held Croatia—the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)—to supervise and maintain the agreement. The UNPROFOR was officially created by UN Security Council Resolution 743 on February 21, 1992. On 7 January 1992, JNA pilot Emir Šišić shot down a European Community helicopter in Croatia, killing five truce observers. Croatia was officially recognized by European Community on January 15, 1992. The JNA began to withdraw from Croatia—even Krajina—although Serb paramilitary groups clearly retained the upper hand in the newly occupied territories. The warring parties mostly moved to entrenched positions as The JNA soon retreated from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina where a new conflict was on the rise. Croatia became a member of the United Nations on May 22, 1992, which was conditional upon Croatia amending its constitution to protect the human rights of minority groups and dissidents.

The Yugoslav People's Army took thousands of prisoners during the war in Croatia, and interned them in camps in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The Croatian forces also captured some Serbian prisoners, and the two sides agreed to several prisoner exchanges, which caused most of them to be freed by the end of 1992. Some of the infamous prisons have included the Sremska Mitrovica camp, the Stajićevo camp and the Begejci camp in Serbia and the Morinj camp in Montenegro. The Croatian Army also established detention camps, like Lora prison camp in Split.

Armed conflict in Croatia continued intermittently at a smaller scale. There were several smaller operations undertaken by Croatian forces, in order to relieve the siege of Dubrovnik, and other Croatian cities (Šibenik, Zadar and Gospić) from the Krajina grip. The most notable ones were Miljevci plateau incident (between Krka and Drniš), on June 21–22, 1992, Operation Jaguar at Križ Hill near Bibinje and Zadar, on May 22, 1992, and a series of military actions in Dubrovnik hinterland: Operation Tigar, on July 1–13, 1992, in Konavle, on September 20–24, 1992 and at Vlaštica, on September 22–25, 1992. The combat near Dubrovnik was followed by withdrawal of JNA from Konavle, between September 30 and October 20, 1992, when the Prevlaka peninsula guarding entrance to the Bay of Kotor was demilitarized and turned over to the UNPROFOR, while the remainder of Konavle was restored to the Croatian authorities. Expulsions of non-Serb civilian population remaining in the occupied territories continued despite presence of the UNPROFOR peacekeeping troops, and in some cases, with the UN troops being virtually enlisted as accomplices of the expulsions.

1993: Croatian military advances

In 1993, there were three notable military operations. Croatian army recaptured the hydroelectric Peruća Dam on January 27 and 28, 1993. Retreating Serb forces detonated explosives within the 65-metre (213 ft) high dam attempting to cause the dam to fail and the reservoir to flood the area downstream. Even though the explosive charges were set off, the disaster was prevented by Mark Nicholas Gray, a Colonel in the British Royal Marines, a lieutenant at the time, acting as a UN military observer at the site. He risked being disciplined for acting beyond his authority by lowering the reservoir level behind the dam holding 0.54 cubic kilometres (0.13 cubic miles) of water before it was blown up. His action saved lives of 20,000 people who would otherwise be drowned or become homeless.

Operation Maslenica took place in area around Maslenica, near Zadar, on January 22 - February 10 1993, while Operation Medak pocket took place in area near Gospić, on September 9–17, 1993. While most of these above operations were a relative success for the Croatian government, the successful Operation Medak pocket in 1993 caused sharp reactions of countries and organizations that had anti-Croatian and pro-Serb attitude during the war. This led the Croatian army to undertaking no offensive action during the subsequent 12 months. The ICTY later indicted Croatian officers Janko Bobetko, Rahim Ademi, Mirko Norac and others for the alleged crimes committed during this operation. Norac was later found guilty by the Croatian court. On September 11, while Medak pocket fighting was in progress, Zagreb was targeted by two 9K52 Luna-M rockets, each carrying some 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of explosives, both hitting Lučko, six miles southwest of the city centre.

There were many UN resolutions that required Croatia to retreat to previous positions and that Croatia must restrain from military operations. Some Croat elements felt aggrieved, as no such resolutions had prevented the Serbian forces from attacking Croatia in the earlier stages of the war (when the disturbances were considered national, not international). In October 1993, the United Nations Security Council affirmed for the first time that the United Nations Protected Areas were an integral part of the Republic of Croatia. On February 18, 1993 Croatian authorities signed the Daruvar Agreement with local Serb leaders in Western Slavonia. The Agreement was kept secret and was aimed towards normalizing life for the locals on the battlefield line. However, the Knin authorities learned of the deal and arrested the Serbian leaders responsible for it. Instead, in June 1993, Serbs began voting in a referendum on merging Krajina territory with Republika Srpska. A letter dated April 3, 1993 from, inter alia, Milan Martić as Minister of the Interior to the Assembly of the Republika Srpska, written on behalf of "the Serbs from the Republic of Serbian Krajina", advocated a joinder of the "two Serbian states as the first stage in the establishment of a state of all Serbs". On January 21, 1994, during the election campaign for the Krajina presidential elections, Martić stated that he would "speed up the process of unification and pass on the baton to all Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević".

During 1992 and 1993, an estimated 225,000 Croats, as well as refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and others from Serbia settled in Croatia. A notable number of Bosniaks also fled to Croatia, which was the initial destination for most of Bosniak refugees. Croatian volunteers and some conscripted soldiers participated in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the same period, Croatia accepted 280,000 Bosniak refugees from the Bosnian War. The large number of refugees was significantly straining Croatian economy and infrastructure. The American Ambassador to Croatia, Peter Galbraith, tried to put the number of Muslim refugees in Croatia into a proper perspective in an interview on November 8, 1993. He said the situation would be the equivalent of the USA taking in 30,000,000 refugees.

1994: Erosion of support for Krajina

In 1992, the Croats and Bosniaks started the Croat-Bosniak conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just as each was fighting with the Bosnian Serbs. The war was originally fought between HVO and Croatian volunteer troops, but by 1994, Croatian Army was involved in the fighting with estimated 3,000 to 5,000 troops. In late February of 1994, the belligerents, under pressure from the United States, agreed on a truce, followed by a meeting of Croatian, Bosnian and Bosnian Croat representatives with US Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Washington, D.C. on February 26, 2010. On March 4, Franjo Tuđman endorsed the agreement providing for creation of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and alliance between Bosnian government forces and Bosnian Croat forces. The agreement also provided for creation of a loose confederation between Croatia and the new federation, permitting Croatia to send troops into Bosnia and Herzegovina. This led to the dismantling of Herzeg-Bosnia and reduced the number of warring factions in Bosnia and Herzegovina from three to two.

In late 1994, the Croatian Army intervened several times in Bosnia: on November 1–3, in the operation Cincar near Kupres, and on November 29 - December 24 in the Winter '94 operation near Dinara and Livno. These operations were undertaken in order to detract from the siege of the Bihać region and to approach RSK capital Knin from the north, de facto isolating it from three sides.

During this time, unsuccessful negotiations were under way between Croatian and RSK governments mediated by the UN. The disputes included opening the Serb-occupied part of the Zagreb–Slavonski Brod motorway near Okučani to transit traffic, as well as the putative status of majority Serbian areas within Croatia. Even though the motorway initially reopened at the end of 1994, it would soon be closed again due to security issues. Repeated failures of resolving the two disputes would serve as triggers for major Croatian offensives in 1995.

At the same time, the Krajina army continued the Siege of Bihać together with the Army of Republika Srpska from Bosnia. Michael Williams, a spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force, said that the village of Vedro Polje west of Bihać had fallen to a Croatian Serb unit in late November 1994 indicating that the siege entered the final stage. He added that heavy tank and artillery fire against the town of Velika Kladuša in the north of the Bihać enclave was coming from the Croatian Serbs. Moreover, Western military analysts said that among the impressive array of Serbian surface-to-air missile systems that surround the Bihac pocket on Croatian territory, there is a modernized SAM-2 system whose degree of sophistication suggests that it was probably brought there recently from Belgrade.

By 1995, the Croatian Army would develop into an effective fighting force centered on the elite Guard Brigades (eight) and comparably less effective Home Defence Regiments and regular brigades (most of which were reorganized into regiments in 1992). This organization meant that in later campaigns, the Croatian army would pursue a variant of blitzkrieg tactics, with the Guard brigades taking the role of punching through the enemy lines, while the other units simply held the lines at other points and completed the encirclement of enemy units.

1995: End of the war

Beginning of 1995 saw renewal of tension as Croatia sought to put increasing pressure on Serb forces occupying a large portion of its territory. On January 12, Franjo Tuđman formally told the UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in a five page letter, that Croatia is ending the agreement permitting stationing of UNPROFOR in Croatia, effective March 31. The move was motivated by continued efforts of Serbia and Serb dominated Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to provide assistance to Serb occupation of Croatia and possibly integrate the occupied areas into Yugoslav territory. The situation was also noted and addressed by the UN General Assembly.

"...regarding the situation in Croatia, and to respect strictly its territorial integrity, and in this regard concludes that their activities aimed at achieving the integration of the occupied territories of Croatia into the administrative, military, educational, transportation and communication systems of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) are illegal, null and void, and must cease immediately."

— The United Nations General Assembly resolution 1994/43, regarding to the occupied territories of Croatia

Even so, international peacemaking efforts continued, as a new peace plan, called Z-4 plan was presented to Croatian and Krajina authorities. Even though there was no initial Croatian response, Serbs flatly refused the proposal. As the deadline for UNPROFOR to pull out set by Croatia neared, a new UN peacekeeping mission was proposed with an increased mandate to patrol Croatian internationally recognized borders. Initially, Serbs were opposing the move, responding with movement of tanks from Serbia into eastern Croatia. Finally, the settlement was reached and the new UN peacekeeping mission was approved by United Nations Security Council Resolution 981 on March 31. Name of the mission was subject of a last-minute dispute, as Croatian foreign minister Mate Granić insisted that term Croatia is added to the force name. Finally, name United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia (UNCRO) was approved.

In early May 1995, violence again erupted. RSK lost support from the Serbian government in Belgrade, partly in response to international pressure. At the same time, the Croatian army reclaimed all of what was previously occupied territory in Western Slavonia during Operation Flash. In retaliation, Serb forces attacked Zagreb with rockets, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians. Yugoslav army also responded to the offensive with a show of force, moving tanks towards Croatian border, in an apparent effort to stave off possible attack on the occupied area in Eastern Slavonia.

During the following months, international efforts mainly concerned largely unsuccessful United Nations Safe Areas set up in Bosnia and Herzegovina while trying to set up a more lasting ceasefire in Croatia. The two issues virtually merged by July 1995 when a number of the safe areas in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina were overrun and another one in the west of the country, Bihać, was threatened. In 1994, Croatia already signaled that it would not allow Bihać to be captured, and new confidence of Croatian military in respect of recapturing occupied areas brought about a demand from Croatian authorities that no further ceasefires are to be negotiated, rather re-integration of the occupied territory into Croatia. These developments and the Washington Agreement led to another meeting of presidents of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 22, when the Split declaration was adopted. In it, Bosnia and Herzegovina invited Croatia to provide military and other assistance, particularly in Bihać area, which Croatia accepted, committing itself to an armed intervention.

On July 25-30, Croatian Army and HVO troops attacked serb held territory north of Dinara Mountain, capturing Bosansko Grahovo and Glamoč during Operation Summer '95. That offensive paved the way for military recapture of occupied territory around Knin, as it severed the last efficient resupply route between Banja Luka and Knin. On August 5, Croatia started Operation Storm aimed at recapturing all of the occupied territory in Croatia, except for a comparatively small strip of land, located along the Danube, at a considerable distance from the bulk of the contested land. The offensive involved 100,000 Croatian soldiers, and thus became the largest single land battle fought in Europe since the World War II. Operation Storm achieved its declared goals and was declared completed on August 8.

Large number of civilian population of the occupied areas fled during the offensive or immediately after its completion, in what was later described in various terms, ranging from expulsion to planned evacuation. Krajina Serb sources (Documents of HQ of Civilian Protection of RSK, Supreme Council of Defense published by Kovačević, Sekulić, Vrcelj,) have confirmed that evacuation of Serbs was organized and planned beforehand. According to Amnesty International, the operation led to the ethnic cleansing of up to 200,000 Croatian Serbs, as well as murder and torture of Serbs, soldiers and civilians, as well as plunder of the Serb civilian property. The BBC noted 200,000 Serb refugees at one point. However, Croatian refugees, exiled in 1991, were finally allowed to return to their homes. In 1996 alone, about 85,000 displaced Croats were already able to return to the former Krajina and western Slavonia, according to estimates of the Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees.

In the months that followed, there was still some intermittent, mainly artillery, attacks from Serb-held areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Dubrovnik area and elsewhere. The remaining Serb-held area in Croatia, in the Eastern Slavonia, was faced with possibility of military confrontation with Croatia. Such possibility was repeatedly stated by Franjo Tuđman only weeks after completion of Operation Storm. The threat was underlined by movement of troops to the region in mid-October, as well as a repeat of earlier threat to intervene militarily—specifically saying that the Croatian Army could intervene if no peace agreement was reached by the end of the month. Further combat was averted on November 12, when Erdut Agreement was signed. The agreement determined that the remaining occupied area was to be returned to Croatia, with a two-year transitional period. The agreement also required removal of the UNCRO mission and that a new UN peacekeeping mission be set up to implement the agreement. It was established as United Nations Transitional Authority for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1037 of January 15, 1996.The transitional period was subsequently extended by a year, and on January 15, 1998, the UNTAES mandate ended and Croatia regained full control of the area.

Type and name of the war

Even though standard term applied to the war translated from Croatian language directly is Homeland war (Template:Lang-hr), Croatian War of Independence gradually became standard term that replaced references to war in Yugoslavia in that part which was related to Croatia. Naturally, English language sources, as well as sources in other languages, also use a substantial number of descriptive or general terms to refer to the war. Those changed as the political and military conflict progressed and transformed, and included War in Croatia, Serbo-Croatian War, and a number of euphemisms such as Conflict in Yugoslavia.

The same English language term is used in translations of text originally written in Croatian. However, different translations of the Croatian name of the war are also sometimes used, e.g. Patriotic War, although such use by native speakers of English is rare. Even though the official term used in Croatian language is also the most widespread form of the name used in Croatia to refer to the war, other terms are also used. One such example is Greater-Serbian Aggression (Template:Lang-hr). The term was much more widely used by media during the war, but it is still sometimes used by media and other speakers. That particular term is not exclusive to Croatian language, as there are examples of its use translated in English.

Two conflicting views exist as to whether the war was a civil or an international war. Since neither Croatia or Yugoslavia declared war on each other, a prevailing view in Serbia was that it was a civil war between Croats and Serbs in Croatia. By contrast, the prevailing view in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and most of the governments of the Western World aligned with the United States is that the war was a war of aggression from Serbia and Montenegro against Croatia, supported by local rebel Serbs.

The armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia started shortly after the date on which Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence on June 25, 1991 between the military forces of the SFRY and Slovenia and Croatia. Such armed conflict should of course be characterized as internal because the declarations of independence were suspended in consequence of the proposal of the EC for three months. After the expiration of the three months’ period, on 7 October 1991, Slovenia proclaimed its independence with effect from that date, and Croatia with effect from 8 October 1991. So the armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia should be considered international as from 8 October 1991 because the independence of these two States was definite on that date.

— The ICTY indictment, in the Duško Tadić case

All acts and omissions charged as Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 occurred during the international armed conflict and partial occupation of Croatia...Displaced persons were not allowed to return to their homes and those few Croats and other non-Serbs who had remained in the Serb-occupied areas were expelled in the following months. The territory of the RSK remained under Serb occupation until large portions of it were retaken by Croatian forces in two operations in 1995. The remaining area of Serb control in Eastern Slavonia was peacefully re-integrated into Croatia in 1998.

— The ICTY indictment, in the Slobodan Milošević case

Impact and aftermath

Casualties and refugees

Most sources place the total amount of deaths on both sides at around 20,000. Croatian casualties are estimated at around 12,000 to 13,000 killed and missing. According to the head of the Croatian Commission for Missing Persons Colonel Ivan Grujić, 12,000 were killed or went missing including some 6,788 soldiers and 4,508 civilians. Official figures from Croatia from 1996 lists 12,000 killed, 35,000 wounded, 180,000 destroyed apartments, 25% of its economy destroyed, and 27 billion US dollars of material damage. Europe Review of 2003 estimated the war damage to 37 billion US dollars, while GDP dropped 21% in the period. Around 196,000 to 221,000 Croats were displaced during the war. Other sources, like United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), listed some 500,000 Croats and other non-Serbs as refugees after being expelled from Croatian territory overrun by Serb rebels. According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2006, 221,000 were displaced of which 218,000 had returned. The majority were displaced during the initial fighting and the JNA offensives of 1991 and 1992. Some 150,000 Croats from Republika Srpska and Serbia have obtained Croatian citizenship since 1991.

The Belgrade based non-government organization Veritas lists 6,780 killed and missing from the Republic of Serbian Krajina including 4,324 combatants and 2,344 civilians. Most of them were killed or missing in 1991 (2,442) and during 1995 (2,394). Most deaths occurred in Northern Dalmatia (1,632). The JNA officially acknowledged 1,279 killed in action during the entire war, although the actual number was probably considerably greater, since casualties were consistently underreported during the war. For example, in the case of a brigade, where official reports spoke of two lightly wounded after an engagement, the actual number was 50 killed and 150 wounded according to the unit's intelligence officer.

According to Serbian sources some 447,316 Serbs were displaced during the war of which 120,000 were displaced in 1991–1993 and 250,000 were displaced after Operation Storm. Most international sources place the number of Serbs displaced at around 300,000. According to Amnesty International 300,000 were displaced from 1991–1995 of which 117,000 are officially registered as having returned as of 2005. According to the OSCE 300,000 were displaced during the war of which 120,000 are officially registered as having returned as of 2006. However, it is believed the number does not reflect the de facto number of returnees because many return to Serbia, Montenegro, or Bosnia and Herzegovina after officially registering in Croatia. According to the UNHCR in 2008, 125,000 are registered as having returned to Croatia, of whom 55,000 remain permanently.

Many Croatian cities were shelled or bombed by RSK or JNA forces from rebel Serb-controlled areas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The most shelled cities were: Vukovar, Slavonski Brod (from the mountain of Vučjak), and Županja (for more than 1,000 days), Vinkovci, Osijek, Nova Gradiška, Novska, Daruvar, Pakrac, Šibenik, Sisak, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Gospić, Karlovac, Biograd na moru, Slavonski Šamac. Cities that were also shelled were: Ogulin, Duga Resa, Otočac, Ilok, Beli Manastir, Zagreb and others. The artillery attacks on Vukovar were particularly severe, as the city sustained more than a million artillery strikes during the Battle of Vukovar, but the other cities also suffered considerable attacks. For instance, Slavonski Brod was never directly attacked by tanks or infantry, but the city and the surrounding villages were hit by more than 11,600 artillery shells and 130 aircraft bombs in 1991 and 1992.

The Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps was founded in order to help victims of prison abuse. The Croatian war veterans in general are organized into numerous non-governmental organizations, the most prominent of which is the Croatian Disabled Homeland War Veterans Association.

War crimes and the ICTY

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established by UN Security Council Resolution 827, which was passed on May 25, 1993. The indictees by ICTY ranged from common soldiers to Prime Ministers and Presidents. Some "high level" indictees included Slobodan Milošević (President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia), Milan Babić (President of the Republika Srpska Krajina), Ratko Mladić (General of the JNA) and Ante Gotovina (General of the Croatian Army).

Between 1991 and 1995, Martić held positions of Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence and President of the self-proclaimed "Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina" (SAO Krajina), which was later renamed "Republic of Serbian Krajina" (RSK). He was found to have participated during this period in a joint criminal enterprise which included Slobodan Milošević, whose aim was to create a unified Serbian state through commission of a widespread and systematic campaign of crimes against non-Serbs inhabiting areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina envisaged to become parts of such a state.

— International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in its verdict against Milan Martić

A significant number of Croat civilians in hospitals and shelters marked with a red cross were targeted by Serb forces. In 2007, two former Yugoslav army officers were sentenced for the Vukovar massacre at the ICTY in The Hague. Veselin Šljivančanin was sentenced to 17 years and Mile Mrkšić to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say that after the capture of Vukovar, the JNA handed over several hundred Croats to rebel Serbian forces. Of these, at least 264 (including injured soldiers, women, children and the elderly) were murdered and buried in mass graves in the neighborhood of Ovčara on the outskirts of Vukovar. The city's mayor Slavko Dokmanović was also brought to trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but committed suicide in 1998 in captivity before proceedings began.

Apart from the atrocities committed after capture of Vukovar, there were numerous well documented war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war perpetrated by Serb and Yugoslav forces in Croatia. Most of them were processed by the ICTY or national judiciaries. They include: Borovo Selo killings, Dalj killings, Dalj massacre, Lovas massacre, Široka Kula massacre, Baćin massacre, Ethnic cleansing of Lipovaca, Vukovići and Saborsko, Škabrnja massacre, Voćin massacre, Bruška massacre, and Zagreb rocket attack.

Croatian forces also committed a number of war crimes, such as Gospić massacre and others, likewise prosecuted by Croatian courts or the ICTY. Infamous prisons for Croatian POWs and civilians once included the Sremska Mitrovica camp, the Stajićevo camp and the Begejci camp in Serbia and the Morinj camp in Montenegro. The Croatian Association of Prisoners in Serbian Concentration Camps was later founded in order to help the victims of prison abuse. The Croatian Army also established detention camps, like Lora prison camp in Split.

Between October 1991 and February 1992, the Croatian government reportedly funded a covert unit under the command of Tomislav Merčep that committed several crimes, involving the killing of prisoners, mostly ethnic Serbs, in a field near Pakrac, in what would later become known as the "Pakračka poljana" case. The killings were initially covered up, but a decade later, five members of this unit, Munib Suljić, Igor Mikola, Siniša Rimac, Miro Bajramović and Branko Šarić, were indicted on several criminal charges related to these events, and later convicted. Tomislav Merčep was arrested for these crimes in December 2010.

The ICTY indicted Croatian officers Janko Bobetko, Rahim Ademi, Mirko Norac and others for the alleged crimes committed during Operation Medak pocket. Norac was later found guilty by the Croatian court. ICTY's indictment against general Ante Gotovina cited at least 150 Serb civilians killed in the aftermath of Operation Storm. Croatian Helsinki Committee registered 677 killed Serb civilians in the operation. Louise Arbour, prosecutor of the ICTY, made it clear that the legality, the legitimacy of the Operation itself is not the issue, but it is required to investigate whether crimes were committed during the campaign. The Trial Chamber reiterated that the legality of Operation Storm is "irrelevant" for the case at hand, since the ICTY is only interested in processing war crimes.

Serbia's role

During the war

"Borders are always dictated by the strong, never by the weak... We simply consider it as a legitimate right and interest of the Serb nation to live in one state."

During Slobodan Milošević trial at The Hague, the ICTY revealed and brought to the public numerous declassified documents of Belgrade's involvement in wars in Croatia and Bosnia. Evidence introduced at trial showed exactly how those in Belgrade and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia financed the war; how they provided weapons and material support to Bosnian and Croatian Serbs; and the administrative and personnel structures set up to support the Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb armies.

Among others, it was established that Belgrade, through the federal government, financed more than 90 percent of Krajina budget in 1993; that the Supreme Defense Council decided to hide aid to Republika Srpska and Krajina from the public; that the National Bank of Krajina operated as a branch office of the National Bank of Yugoslavia; that by March 1994 FR Yugoslavia, Krajina and Republika Srpska used a single currency; numerous documents demonstrated that branches of the Krajina Public Accountancy Service were incorporated into Serbia's accountancy system in May 1991; that the financing of Krajina and Republika Srpska caused hyperinflation in FR Yugoslavia;

Evidence also showed that the JNA, the Serbian Ministry of Interior and other entities (including Serb civilian groups and police) armed Serb civilians and local territorial defense groups in Krajina and Bosnia before the conflicts erupted; Milan Babić testified that in 1991, after he had a meeting with Milosevic and the Serbian Interior Minister, Serbia's Ministry of the Interior distributed arms to Krajina from the warehouses of the Territorial Defense units in Serbia. The Serbian Ministry of Defence also supported the Krajina Army. In 1993, the US State Department reported that right after the Maslenica and Medak pocket operations, the authorities in Serbia dispatched substantial numbers of "volunteers" to Serb held territories in Croatia to fight against the Croats. A former secretary of Arkan testified at the Haague, confirming that the paramilitary leader took his orders, and his money, directly from the secret police run by Slobodan Milosevic.

After the war

The end of the armed conflict in 1995 came about when Serbia (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) directly signed the Erdut Agreement. After the successful implementation of the Agreement, the relations between Croatia and Serbia gradually improved. Croatia and Serbia established diplomatic relations in 1996. In a case before the International Court of Justice, Croatia filed the suit against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on July 2, 1999, citing Article IX of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. With the transformation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into Serbia and Montenegro and the dissolution of that country in 2006, Serbia is considered its legal successor. The application was filed for Croatia by the American lawyer David Rivkin. Serbia reciprocated with the genocide lawsuit against the Republic of Croatia on January 4, 2010. The Serbian application covers missing people, killed people, refugees, expelled people and all military actions and concentration camps with historical account of World War II persecution of Serbs committed by the Independent State of Croatia during the World War II.

By 2010, Croatia and Serbia further improved their relations through an agreement to resolve the remaining refugee issues, and visits of Croatian president Ivo Josipović to Belgrade, and of the Serbian president Boris Tadić to Zagreb and Vukovar. During their meeting in Vukovar, president Tadić gave a statement expressing his "apology and regret", while president Josipović said "that no crimes committed at the time would go unpunished." The statements were made during joint visit to Ovčara memorial centre, site of Vukovar massacre.

In popular culture

• Harrison's Flowers (2000), directed by Elie Chouraqui. When a Newsweek photojournalist disappears in war-torn Vukovar, his wife travels to find him.
• The Death of Yugoslavia (1995). A BBC series with extensive interviews of prominent Croat and Serb protagonists.
• Truth (director unknown). A Serbian-produced documentary with a brief history of the war from a Serb point of view, while examining in detail atrocities committed against Serbs.
• Hrvatska Ljubavi Moja/Croatia, My Love, a movie by Jakov Sedlar showing accounts by Jews and American officials about the Oluja and the war as a whole.
• ER. The character of Dr. Luka Kovač, played by Goran Višnjić, who first appeared on the series in 1999 and is still a main character as of 2007, lost his wife and children in the war. They were killed when a grenade shell hit their house.
• Zaustavljeni glas/Suspended Voice (2010) by Višnja Starešina. A documentary about the siege of Vukovar and the death of reporter Siniša Glavašević at Ovčara.
• Glave dole, ruke na leđa/Heads Down, Hands on Back (2003) - A Serbian documentary by Danica Vučenić about the Begejci camp
• Jedinica/The Unit (2006), a Serbian documentary by Filip Švarm about the secret unit "Red Berets".

See also

• Timeline of the Croatian War of Independence
• Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on the former Yugoslavia
• Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
• Minefields in Croatia
• Virovitica-Karlovac-Karlobag line

Annotations

1. The Serb-controlled units of the JNA from Serbia and Montenegro continued to fight throughout 1991 and up to May 1992 in support of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, but no longer as an officially separate combatant authority.
2. As determined by the Badinter Arbitration Committee, SFR Yugoslavia dissolved during the war. At the beginning of the war, Croatia was legally a part of the SFR Yugoslavia, declaring its independence on June 25, 1991, and putting the independence decision into force on October 8, 1991 following a three-month moratorium. After all former Yugoslav federal republics, except Serbia and Montenegro declared independence, the pair declared creation of a new country - the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on April 27, 1992.
3. Initially, SAO Krajina, SAO Western Slavonia and SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia were separate entities and fought individually against the Croatian government. From 19 December 1991, the SAOs became part of RSK.
4. On June 25, 1991 Croatian parliament declared independence of Croatia following a referendum held in May. The decision was however suspended for three months, and on October 8, 1991 the declaration became effective and Croatia was no longer a part of Yugoslavia.
5. In 1992-1994, Republika Srpska was intermittently involved in Croatian military operations, mostly through provision of military and other aid to the RSK, occasional air raids launched from Mahovljani airbase near Banja Luka and most significantly through artillery attacks against a number of cities in Croatia, especially Slavonski Brod, Županja and Dubrovnik.
6. ^ Bosnia and Herzegovina was particularly significant for the war in late 1994 and in 1995. Pursuant to the Washington Agreement, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed as a subunit of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH) representing both Bosnian Croat and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) ethnic groups. Most significantly, the Washington Agreement specifically permitted Croatian Army to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby allowing operations Cincar and Winter '94 against the army of Republika Srpska, outflanking RSK capital Knin and creating a new strategic situation before the decisive battles of the war.
7. The AP Western Bosnia, led by Fikret Abdić saw only a peripheral involvement in the Croatian War of Independence. Its focus was directed at securing and holding territory around Velika Kladuša, and in late 1994 and 1995 at capturing Bihać with help from its RSK allies. This alliance was the main facet of involvement in the Croatian War of Independence, since it may have permitted the RSK to release some troops from frontline or occupation duties around Bihać pocket and use those troops to fight advancing Croatian Army. Significance of that type of contribution however remains difficult to assess. The AP Western Bosnia dissolved during the Operation Storm.
8. There was no formal declaration of the war. The first armed clash of the war was Pakrac clash on March 1, 1991, followed by Plitvice Lakes incident on March 31, 1991 when the first fatalities of the war occurred. The last major combat operation of the war was Operation Storm, on August 5-8, 1995. Formally, hostilities ceased when the Erdut Agreement was signed, on November 12, 1995.
9. There were also some conflicts at the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly at the end of the war in late 1994 and the first half of 1995. Most significant to the course of the war among those were Cincar, and Operation Winter '94.
10. Three months after the military defeat of the RSK in Operation Storm, the UN-sponsored Erdut Agreement between the FR Yugoslav/Serbian and Croatian authorities was signed on November 12, 1995. The agreement provided for a two-year transitional period, later extended by a year, during which the remaining occupied territory of Croatia was to be transferred to control of the Croatian government. The agreement was implemented by UNTAES and successfully completed by 1998.

Notes

Part of a series on the
History of Croatia
Early history History of Croatia before the Croats Roman Pannonia Roman Dalmatia Ostrogothic Kingdom Byzantine Empire Origins of the Croats White Croatia White Croats
Middle Ages Avar Khaganate Duchy of Croatia Lower Pannonia Southern Dalmatia March of Istria Kingdom of Croatia Union with Hungary Republic of Dubrovnik Republic of Poljica
Modernity Ottoman Croatia Republic of Venice Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) Croatian Military Frontier Illyrian Provinces Kingdom of Illyria Kingdom of Slavonia Kingdom of Dalmatia Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
20th century World War I State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs Kingdom of Yugoslavia Banovina of Croatia World War II Independent State of Croatia Federal State of Croatia Socialist Republic of Croatia
Contemporary Croatia Independence War of independence Croatia since 1995
Timeline
Croatia portal
v t e

1. ^ Chuck Sudetic (January 3, 1992). "YUGOSLAV FACTIONS AGREE TO U.N. PLAN TO HALT CIVIL WAR". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
2. ^ Allain Pellet (1992). "The Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee: A Second Breath for the Self-Determination of Peoples" (PDF). European Journal of International Law. 3 (1): 178–185.
3. ^ Chuck Sudetic (June 26, 1991). "2 YUGOSLAV STATES VOTE INDEPENDENCE TO PRESS DEMANDS". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
4. ^ Chuck Sudetic (June 29, 1991). "Conflict in Yugoslavia; 2 YUGOSLAV STATES AGREE TO SUSPEND SECESSION PROCESS". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
5. "Two Republics Transform Selves Into a New, Smaller Yugoslavia". The Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1992. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
6. ^ Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Routledge. 1998. pp. 272–278. ISBN 1-85743-058-1. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
7. ^ "Ceremonial session of the Croatian Parliament on the occasion of the Day of Independence of the Republic of Croatia (Zagreb, October 7, 2004)". Parliament of Croatia. October 7, 2004. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
8. Peter Maass (July 16, 1992). "Serb Artillery Hits Refugees -- At Least 8 Die As Shells Hit Packed Stadium". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
9. ^ Raymond Bonner (August 17, 1995). "Dubrovnik Finds Hint of Deja Vu in Serbian Artillery". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
10. Dangerous sanctuaries: refugee camps, civil war, and the dilemmas of humanitarian aid. Cornell University Press. 2005. pp. 128–129. ISBN 0801442850. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
11. ^ "Muslims and Bosnian Croats Give Birth to a New Federation". The New York Times. March 18, 1994. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
12. ^ Stephen Engelberg (March 3, 1991). "Belgrade Sends Troops to Croatia Town". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
13. ^ Chuck Sudetic (April 1, 1991). "Deadly Clash in a Yugoslav Republic". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
14. ^ Dean E. Murphy (August 8, 1995). "Croats Declare Victory, End Blitz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
15. ^ Chris Hedges (November 12, 1995). "SERBS IN CROATIA RESOLVE KEY ISSUE BY GIVING UP LAND". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
16. ^ Chuck Sudetic (November 4, 1994). "Bosnian Army and Croats Drive Serbs Out of a Town". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
17. ^ Roger Cohen (January 12, 1995). "Croatia Is Set to End Mandate Of U.N. Force on Its Territory". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
18. ^ Burg and Shoup 2000, p. 331
19. ^ Chris Hedges (January 16, 1998). "An Ethnic Morass Is Returned to Croatia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
20. ^ "Killed and missing persons from the territories of Republic Croatia and former Republic of Serb Krayina | the Polynational War Memorial". War-memorial.net. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
21. Meštrović 1996, p. 77
22. ^ Bilten. Veritas (December 1999). Retrieved 5 September 2009.
23. ^ Croatia: "Operation Storm" - still no justice ten years on by Amnesty International, 26 August 2005.
24. Goldstein 1999, p. 256
25. ^ Dominelli 2007, p. 163
26. ^ Darko Zubrinic. "Croatia within ex-Yugoslavia". Croatianhistory.net. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
27. "Utjecaj srbijanske agresije na stanovništvo Hrvatske" (in Croatian). Index.hr. December 11, 2003. Retrieved December 23, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
28. ^ Croatia: Selected Developments in Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
29. ^ "Civil and Political Rights in Croatia". Human Rights Watch. October 1, 1995. p. 62. Retrieved December 23, 2010. As of March 1995, the Croatian government was providing refuge to 189,000 refugees from Bosnia and 196,000 persons who have been internally displaced as a result of the war in Croatia in 1991 and thereafter.
30. ^ Neven Crvenkovic (August 5, 2005). "Home again, 10 years after Croatia's Operation Storm". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
31. ^ Sasa Grubanovic, Lovorka Kozole (September 15, 2003). "9–15 September 2003". Transitions Online. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
32. ^ "Presidents apologise over Croatian war". BBC News. 2003-09-10. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
33. ^ "Serbia to respond to Croatian genocide charges with countersuit at ICJ". SETimes.com. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
34. ^ "UN to hear Croatia genocide claim against Serbia:". tehran times. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
35. "Country Profile: Croatia". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
36. ^ Mirko Bilandžić (2008). "Hrvatska vojska u međunarodnim odnosima". Polemos: časopis za interdisciplinarna istraživanja rata i mira (in Croatian). 11 (22). Croatian Sociological Association and Jesenski & Turk Publishing House. ISSN 1331–5595. Retrieved December 21, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Check |issn= value (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
37. The period of Croatia within ex-Yugoslavia
38. ^ "Srbija-Hrvatska, temelj stabilnosti" (in Serbian). B92. November 4, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
39. ^ Chris Sudetic (November 4, 1991). "Army Rushes to Take a Croatian Town". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
40. "Milan Martić verdict" (PDF). ICTY. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2010-09-11. The Trial Chamber found that the evidence showed that the President of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, openly supported the preservation of Yugoslavia as a federation of which the SAO Krajina would form a part. However, the evidence established that Slobodan Milošević covertly intended the creation of a Serb state. This state was to be created through the establishment of paramilitary forces and the provocation of incidents in order to create a situation where the JNA could intervene. Initially, the JNA would intervene to separate the parties but subsequently the JNA would intervene to secure the territories envisaged to be part of a future Serb state.
41. "Milan Babić verdict" (PDF). ICTY. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2010-09-11. He participated in the provision of financial, material, logistical, and political support for the military take-over of territories and requested the assistance or facilitated the participation of Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in establishing and maintaining control of those territories.
42. ^ "Croatia Clashes Rise; Mediators Pessimistic". The New York Times. December 19, 1991. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
43. Template:Sr icon NIN, 23 Dec 1991
    (referred in) Template:Hr icon Ivan Strižić: Bitka za Slunj — obrana i oslobađanje grada Slunja i općina Rakovice, Cetingrada, Saborsko i Plitvička Jezera od velikosrbske agresije, Naklada Hrvoje, Zagreb, 2007, p. 124, ISBN 978-953-95750-0-5
44. ^ "Serb-Led Presidency Drafts Plan For New and Smaller Yugoslavia". The New York Times. December 27, 1991. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
45. ^ "Milan Martić sentenced to 35 years for crimes against humanity and war crimes". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. June 12, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
46. Kadijević 1993, pp. 134-135
47. ^ "YUGOSLAVIA ARMY BEGINS OFFENSIVE". The New York Times. October 18, 1991. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
48. ^ Yigan Chazan (June 9, 1992). "Deadly Clash in a Yugoslav Republic". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
49. ^ Paul L. Montgomery (May 23 1992). "3 Ex-Yugoslav Republics Are Accepted Into U.N." New York Times. Retrieved December 12 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
50. ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 743. S/RES/743(1992) 21 February 1992. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
51. ^ Roger Cohen (May 2, 1995). "CROATIA HITS AREA REBEL SERBS HOLD, CROSSING U.N. LINES". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
52. ^ World of Information (2003). Europe Review. Kogan Page. p. 75. ISBN 0749440678. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
53. ^ "UN agency welcomes Serbia-Croatia agreement on refugee, return issues". United Nations. November 26, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
54. ^ "Serbia and Croatia forge ties with talks in Belgrade". BBC News Service. July 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
55. Vesna Pešić (April 1996). "Serbian Nationalism and the Origins of the Yugoslav Crisis". United States Institute for Peace. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
56. ^ "Kosovo". The New York Times. July 23, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
57. Henry Kamm (December 8, 1985). "Yugoslav republic jealously guards its gains". The New York Times. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
58. "A Kosovo Primer". Time. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
59. "Serbia's Vojvodina Regains Autonomy". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. December 15, 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
60. Damijan Guštin (June 1, 2008). "Slovenija, saveznica Hrvatske tijekom razlaza s jugoslavenskom državom (od »nenačelne koalicije« do raspada vojnog saveza 1989.-1991.)" (PDF). Časopis za suvremenu povijest (in Croatian). 40 (1). Hrvatski institut za povijest: 91–93. ISSN 0590-9597. Retrieved December 10, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
61. Tim Judah (July 1, 2001). "Tyrant's defeat marks Serbs' day of destiny". The Guardian. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
62. "Vojislav Seselj indictment" (PDF). The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 2003-01-15. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
63. Slobodan Milosevic Transcript, case NO. IT-94-1-T. Wednesday, 4 December 2002
64. "A Country Study: Yugoslavia (Former): Political Innovation and the 1974 Constitution (chapter 4)". The Library of Congress.
65. Mesić 2004, p. 33
66. By HENRY KAMM, Special to the New York Times (1988-10-09). "Yugoslav Police Fight Off A Siege In Provincial City". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
67. Reuters (1989-01-12). "Leaders of a Republic In Yugoslavia Resign". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-07. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
68. Frucht 2005, p. 433
69. Davor Pauković (June 1, 2008). "Posljednji kongres Saveza komunista Jugoslavije: uzroci, tijek i posljedice raspada" (PDF). Časopis za suvremenu povijest (in Croatian). 1 (1). Centar za politološka istraživanja: 21–33. ISSN 1847-2397. Retrieved December 11, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
70. "Ivica Racan". The Times. April 30, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
71. "EVOLUTION IN EUROPE; Yugoslavia Hopes for Free Vote in '90". The New York Times. April 23, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
72. ^ "EVOLUTION IN EUROPE; Conservatives Win in Croatia". The New York Times. May 9, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
73. Branka Magas (December 13, 1999). "Obituary: Franjo Tudjman". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
74. "Tuđmana je za posjeta Americi 1987. trebao ubiti srpski vojni likvidator" (in Croatian). Večernji list. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2010-10-08. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |transtitle= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
75. "Second Class citizens". Human Rights Watch. March 1, 1999. p. 7. Retrieved December 23, 2010. Many saw the collapse of the SFRJ as an opportunity to attain autonomy from Belgrade and what they viewed as Serb hegemony. Serbs occupied a disproportionate number of state posts throughout the SFRJ, including in Croatia, and dominated the Yugoslav People=s Army (JNA). {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 76 (help)
76. ^ ICTY (2007-06-12). "The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic (paragraph 127-150)" (PDF). ICTY. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
77. "Croatia in Yugoslavi, 1945-91". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
78. Čobanov, Saša; Rudolf, Davorin (2009). "Jugoslavija: unitarna država ili federacija povijesne težnje srpskoga i hrvatskog naroda – jedan od uzroka raspada Jugoslavije". Zbornik radova Pravnog fakulteta u Splitu (in Croatian). 46 (2). University of Split, Faculty of Law. ISSN 1847-0459. Retrieved December 10, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
79. Egon Kraljević (November 2007). "Prilog za povijest uprave: Komisija za razgraničenje pri Predsjedništvu Vlade Narodne Republike Hrvatske 1945.-1946" (PDF). Arhivski vjesnik (in Croatian). 50 (50). Croatian State Archives. ISSN 0570-9008. Retrieved December 10, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
80. ^ "Crisis in the Kremlin; Croatia Takes Right to Secede". The New York Times. December 22, 1990. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
81. Dada Zečić (June 11, 2002). "U Hrvatskoj živi oko 202 tisuće Srba" (in Croatian). Vjesnik. Retrieved December 11, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
82. "Croatia's Serbs Declare Their Autonomy". The New York Times. October 2, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
83. "Serb Minority Seek Role in a Separate Croatia". The New York Times. August 7, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
84. ^ "Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts". The New York Times. August 19, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
85. "Armed Serbs Guard Highways in Croatia During Referendum". The New York Times. August 20, 1990. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
86. "IWPR news report: Martic "Provoked" Croatian Conflict". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. February 17, 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-07. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 29, 2007 suggested (help)
87. "Truce in Croatia on Edge of Collapse". The New York Times. August 19, 1991. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
88. "Milan Babić Transcript". ICTY. February 17, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2011. Well, I was invited to his cabinet for an interview, for a talk, and Radovan Karadzic was there, and we were supposed to work on the solution of the problem created by the declaration which referred to the unification of SAO Krajina and Bosanska Krajina, and at the end of that conversation, as we were leaving, Milosevic said wait a second and he went to an adjoining room and he came back and he was carrying a piece of paper, he didn't tell us what it was but standing at the door, he looked at us in a very self-assured way, and he said, "Where should I deploy the armed forces?" And he looked at me and I said, "along the Krajina borders." And then he looked at Karadzic and he said, "Along the borders to Croatia and then we'll sort things out with them afterwards." And that was the end of the conversation. And then he nodded. He didn't actually say anything. He just nodded. That was his farewell. I think he wanted to make us aware of the fact that he had control over the armed forces rather than ask us where to deploy them because he must have had his own plans by then. Immediately after that, or at the next meeting, we found the generals there at his cabinet.
89. "History — Territorial Defence". Slovenian Armed Forces. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
90. "Defiant Yugoslav Republics Brace for Assault". The New York Times. January 20, 1991. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
91. "Yugoslavia Warns Croatia to Disarm Its Forces". The New York Times. January 22, 1991. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
92. "Defiant Croatian Republic Refuses to Disarm Paramilitary Police". The New York Times. January 25, 1991. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
93. "Confrontation in Yugoslavia Headed Off". The New York Times. January 27, 1991. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
94. Aleksandar Radić (2006). "Vežba Avala — Jugoslovenska odbrana od Varšavskog pakta 1968. godine" (PDF). Istorija 20. veka (in Serbian) (2). Belgrade: Institut za savremenu istoriju. ISSN 0352-3160. Retrieved December 16, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
95. Western European Union 1986, p. 107
96. Finlan 2004, pp. 20-21
97. Stephen Engelberg (December 23, 1991). "Yugoslav Ethnic Hatreds Raise Fears of a War Without an End". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
98. ^ "69 hrvatskih civila ubijeno u Lovasu u oktobru 1991" (in Serbian). B92. October 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
99. ^ Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts, established pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 780 (1992), Annex VIII — Prison camps; Under the Direction of: M. Cherif Bassiouni; S/1994/674/Add.2 (Vol. IV), 27 May 1994, Special Forces, (p. 1070). Accessdate 20 October 2010.
100. Georg Mader (2006). "Croatia's embargoed air force". World Air Power Journal. 24 (Spring). London: Aerospace Publishing: 145. ISBN 1-874023-66-2.
101. ^ Blaskovich 1997, p. 5.
102. Frucht 2005, p. 562
103. ^ Thomas, 2006, pp. 21-22
104. ^ Chris Sudetic (October 6, 1991). "Shells Still Fall on Croatian Towns Despite Truce". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
105. Alan Cowell (September 24, 1991). "Serbs and Croats: Seeing War in Different Prisms". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
106. David Binder (November 24, 1991). "YUGOSLAV RIVALS SIGN A CEASE-FIRE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
107. Dušan Stojanović (March 19, 2010). "Ex-Serb general: hero or traitor?". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
108. ^ Ramet, 2006, p. 452
109. Roger Cohen (November 5, 1994). "ARMS TRAFFICKING TO BOSNIA GOES ON DESPITE EMBARGO". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
110. Kovac, Mirko Deset godina od hrvatske vojne akcije Oluja, Crnogorski književni list, 2005
111. Stephen Engelberg (March 4, 1991). "Serb-Croat Showdown in One Village Square". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
112. "19th anniversary of Plitvice action commemorated". Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
113. David Binder (March 18, 1991). "Serbian Official Declares Part of Croatia Separate". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
114. Chuck Sudetic (April 2, 1991). "Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
115. "Chronology of the homeland war". Military of Croatia. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
116. ^ John Pike (2005-10-20). "Serbo-Croatian War". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
117. Celestine Bohlen (May 16, 1991). "New Crisis Grips Yugoslavia Over Rotation of Leadership". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
118. Celestine Bohlen (May 18, 1991). "YUGOSLAVIA FAILS TO FILL PRESIDENCY". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
119. Chuck Sudetic (May 19, 1991). "CROATIA REJECTS A YUGOSLAV PANEL". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
120. Chuck Sudetic (July 1, 1991). "Belgrade Orders Army to Return To Its Barracks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
121. "Croatia Calls for EC-Style Yugoslavia". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1991. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
122. "ODLUKA o raspisu referenduma" (in Croatian). Narodne Novine. May 2, 1991. Retrieved January 3, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
123. Chuck Sudetic (May 20, 1991). "Croatia Votes for Sovereignty and Confederation". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
124. "DEKLARACIJA o proglašenju suverene i samostalne Republike Hrvatske" (in Croatian). Narodne Novine. June 25, 1991. Retrieved December 12, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
125. Alan Riding (June 26, 1991). "EUROPEANS WARN ON YUGOSLAV SPLIT". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
126. ^ Charles T. Powers (August 1, 1991). "Serbian Forces Press Fight for Major Chunk of Croatia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
127. Chuck Sudetic (July 24, 1991). "CROATS TURN DOWN A NEW PEACE PACT". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
128. ^ Stephen Engelberg (July 27, 1991). "Serbia Sending Supplies to Compatriots in Croatia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
129. Stephen Engelberg (12 December 1991). "Germany Raising Hopes of Croatia". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-27. Before the war, the Yugoslav Army drew its soldiers from conscription in all of the Yugoslav republics. Now it must rely on Serbian reservists and Serb irregulars who are poorly trained. A recent report by the monitoring mission concluded that the army was routinely shelling civilian areas.
130. "Yugoslav Army Driving on Dubrovnik, 2 Other Cities". Los Angeles Times. October 3, 1991. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
131. Carol J. Williams (November 4, 1991). "Belgrade Gets a Final Warning From EC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
132. Charles T. Powers (July 28, 1991). "30 Killed as Croatia Battles Rage Unabated". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
133. "Croatia Says Missiles Aimed at Its Fighters". Los Angeles Times. December 29, 1991. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
134. Christopher Bellamy (October 10, 1992). "Croatia built 'web of contacts' to evade weapons embargo". The Independent. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
135. Nathaniel C. Nash (January 11, 1992). "Chilean Arms Shipment to Croatia Stirs Tensions". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
136. Chuck Sudetic (July 3, 1991). "CONFLICT IN YUGOSLAVIA; YUGOSLAV TROOPS BATTLE SLOVENES, ENDING CEASE-FIRE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
137. Carol J. Williams (July 19, 1991). "Yugoslavia to Withdraw Troops From Slovenia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
138. ^ Stephen Engelberg (July 16, 1991). "Yugoslav Army Revamping Itself After Setbacks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
139. ^ "Army Leaves More Towns in Croatia". Los Angeles Times. September 29, 1991. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
140. "Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY): Military Service". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. September 1, 1993. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
141. Mann 1996, p. 363
142. Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts established pursuant to security council resolution 780 (1992) (1994-12-28). "The military structure, strategy and tactics of the warring factions". Retrieved 2010-09-11. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |author= at position 57 (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
143. Chris Sudetic (August 24, 1991). "Fighting May Unravel Yugoslav Truce". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
144. Chris Sudetic (August 26, 1991). "New Croatia Strife After Bonn Warning". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
145. Vlado Vurušić (November 18, 2006). "Vukovar 18.11.1991.: 4004 branitelja, 81.884 agresora" (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. Retrieved December 15, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
146. Gabriel Partos (June 13, 2003). "Vukovar massacre: What happened". BBC News. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
147. Andrew W. Maki (July 10, 2009). "Witness Says Stanisic Supplied Croatia's Serbs With Weapons". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
148. "15,000 Recall Siege of Vukovar in 1991". The New York Times. November 19, 2001. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
149. ^ Helen Seeney (August 22, 2006). "Croatia: Vukovar is Still Haunted by the Shadow of its Past". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
150. William Safire (14 March 1993). "ON LANGUAGE; Ethnic Cleansing". New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
151. Chris Sudetic (October 3, 1991). "Navy Blockade of Croatia Is Renewed". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
152. Stjepan Bernardić (November 15, 2004). "Admiral Letica je naredio: Raspali!" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved December 18, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
153. "Brčić: Hrvatsko obalno topništvo prvo je otvorilo vatru" (in Croatian). Nova TV (Croatia). July 29, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
154. Wertheim 2007, pp. 145-146
155. "Yugoslav Planes Attack Croatian Presidential Palace". The New York Times. October 8, 1991. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
156. Martin Špegelj: "Memories of a Soldier" ("Uspomene Vojnika"), Zagreb 2nd edition
157. David Binder (November 9, 1991). "OLD CITY TOTTERS IN YUGOSLAV SIEGE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
158. Alan Riding (November 9, 1991). "EUROPEAN NATIONS DECLARE SANCTIONS AGAINST BELGRADE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
159. Joseph Pearson, 'Dubrovnik’s Artistic Patrimony, and its Role in War Reporting (1991)' in European History Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 2, 197-216 (2010).
160. "Chronology for Serbs in Croatia". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2004. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
161. ^ "Observers Blame Serb-Led Army For Escalating War in Croatia". The New York Times. December 3, 1991. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
162. Chuck Sudetic (November 18, 1991). "Croats Concede Danube Town's Loss". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
163. Eugene Brcic (June 29, 1998). "Croats bury victims of Vukovar massacre". The Independent. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
164. "Yugoslavia – further reports of torture" (PDF). Amnesty International. March 1992. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
165. "Prime Minister Ivo Sanader: "Vukovar Defended Itself and Croatia"" (PDF). Weekly bulletin (PDF). 2 (47). Embassy of the Republic of Croatia, Washington DC, USA: 6. November 18, 2005. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
166. ^ Anthony Lewis (March 4, 1994). "Abroad at Home; A Lesson Too Late". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
167. "Balkans: Vukovar Massacre Trial Begins In The Hague". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. 2005-10-11. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
168. Stephen Kinzer (December 24, 1991). "Slovenia and Croatia Get Bonn's Nod". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
169. ^ Chuck Sudetic (June 20, 1993). "FIGHTING IN BOSNIA EASES UNDER TRUCE". New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
170. Željko Krušelj (December 24, 2005). "»Orkan« i »Otkos« raspršili velikosrpske planove" (PDF) (in Croatian). Vjesnik. Retrieved December 16, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
171. "3rd Government of the Republic of Croatia". Government of Croatia. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
172. Carol J. Williams (January 29, 1992). "Roadblock Stalls U.N.'s Yugoslavia Deployment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
173. Chuck Sudetic (January 8, 1992). "5 European Observers Are Killed As Yugoslav Troops Down Copter". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
174. ^ Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts, established pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 780 (1992), Annex VIII — Prison camps; Under the Direction of: M. Cherif Bassiouni; S/1994/674/Add.2 (Vol. IV), 27 May 1994, Annex VIII: Prison camps, Accessdate 17 October 2010. Cite error: The named reference "camp" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
175. Michael T. Kaufman (June 24, 1992). "CROATIAN TROOPS HIT SERBIAN AREA". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
176. Michael T. Kaufman (July 15, 1992). "The Walls and the Will of Dubrovnik". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
177. "Prevlaka Peninsula — UNMOP — Background". United Nations. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
178. ^ Carol J. Williams (May 9, 1992). "Non-Serbs in Croatian Zone Forced to Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
179. Carol J. Williams (January 30, 1993). "Croats Rush to Drain Massive Lake Behind Dam". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
180. Tom Wilkie (September 16, 1995). "Unsung army officer saved 20,000 lives". The Independent. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
181. ^ "CT/MO/1015e — RAHIM ADEMI AND MIRKO NORAC CASE TRANSFERRED TO CROATIA". pub. The Hague, 1 November 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-08-12. Today, 1 November 2005, the Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac case was officially transferred to the Republic of Croatia by the ICTY. This is the first case in which persons already indicted by the Tribunal have been referred to Croatia. It is the only case, out of 10, that the Tribunal's Prosecution has requested to be transferred to Croatia. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
182. ^ "Croatia jails war crimes general". BBC News. 11:52 GMT, Friday, 30 May 2008 12:52 UK. Retrieved 2008-08-12. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for failing to stop his soldiers killing and torturing Serbs in 1993. ... The charge sheet included the killing of 28 civilians and five prisoners. Some of the victims were tortured before they were killed. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
183. "Croatia Fighting Worsens as Zagreb Suburb Is Hit". New York Times. 1993-09-11. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
184. "UN Security Council resolution 871 (1993) on the situation in Former Yugoslavia". 1993-10-03. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 7. Stresses the importance it attaches, as a first step towards the implementation of the United Nations peace-keeping plan for the Republic of Croatia, to the process of restoration of the authority of the Republic of Croatia in the pink zones, and in this context calls for the revival of the Joint Commission established under the chairmanship of UNPROFOR; 8. Urges all the parties and others concerned to cooperate with UNPROFOR in reaching and implementing an agreement on confidence-building measures including the restoration of electricity, water and communications in all regions of the Republic of Croatia, and stresses in this context the importance it attaches to the opening of the railroad between Zagreb and Split, the highway between Zagreb and Zupanja, and the Adriatic oil pipeline, securing the uninterrupted traffic across the Maslenica strait, and restoring the supply of electricity and water to all regions of the Republic of Croatia including the United Nations Protected Areas
185. "MARTIC OWED HIS FAME TO THE KNIN ROADBLOCKS". Sense-Agency. January 16, 2006. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
186. "The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic (paragraph 335-336)" (PDF). ICTY. 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2010-10-07. Efforts to unify the Croatian Krajina and the Bosnian Krajina continued throughout 1992 until 1995. The evidence shows that the RSK leadership sought an alliance, and eventually unification, with the RS in BiH and that Milan Martić was in favour of such unification. A letter dated 3 April 1993 from, inter alia, Milan Martic as Minister of the Interior to the Assembly of the RS, written on behalf of "the Serbs from the RSK", advocates a joinder of the "two Serbian states as the first stage in the establishment of a state of all Serbs". Moreover, in this regard, the Trial Chamber recalls the evidence concerning operation Koridor 92. On 21 January 1994, during the election campaign for the RSK presidential elections, Milan Martić stated that he would "speed up the process of unification" and "pass on the baton to our all Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic."
187. John F. Burns (July 6, 1992). "Croats Claim Their Own Slice of Bosnia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
188. Blaskovich 1997, p. 103.
189. Paul Lewis (February 4, 1994). "U.N. Security Council Warns Croatia on Troops in Bosnia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
190. "Croats, Muslims Summoned to U.S. for Talks". The New York Times. February 25, 1994. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
191. William E. Schmidt (February 24, 1994). "Croats and Muslims Reach Truce To End the Other Bosnia Conflict". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
192. "Christopher Hears Demands Of 2 Warring Bosnia Sides". The New York Times. February 27, 1994. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
193. "Croatian Leader Backs Pact by Bosnia's Muslims and Croats". The New York Times. March 4, 1994. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
194. "Bosnia and Herzegovina — Background". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2010-09-11. Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs—supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro—responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
195. Stephen Kinzer (January 4, 1995). "Opened Road in Croatia: Path to Peace?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
196. Roger Cohen (December 12, 1994). "CONFLICT IN THE BALKANS: IN CROATIA; Balkan War May Spread Into Croatia". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
197. Roger Cohen (October 28, 1994). "Hard-Fought Ground". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
198. "Croatia Tells U.N. Troop Accord Ends". The New York Times. January 13, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
199. "The situation in the occupied territories of Croatia". United Nations General Assembly. February 9, 1995. Retrieved December 14 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
200. "Croatian Serbs Won't Even Look At Plan for Limited Autonomy". The New York Times. January 31, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
201. Raymond Bonner (March 14, 1995). "Croatia's Serbs Balk at a New U.N. Role". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
202. Christopher S. Wren (April 1, 1995). "U.N. Votes to Keep Its Troops In Balkans for 8 More Months". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
203. ^ Roger Cohen (May 3, 1995). "REBEL SERBS SHELL CROATIAN CAPITAL". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
204. ^ Roger Cohen (May 4, 1995). "Rebel Serbs Pound Zagreb for Second Day". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
205. Roger Cohen (May 7, 1995). "Serbia Moves Tanks to Croatia Border". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
206. Kara Sundby (August 3, 2010). "Srebrenica Massacre". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
207. William D. Montalbano (August 1, 1995). "Balkan War Looms as Croatia Widens Its Reach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
208. "Croatia to Assist Bosnia". The New York Times. July 23, 1995. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
209. Shawcross 2001, p. 175
210. Alan Cowell (July 30, 1995). "Croatia Presses Offensive Against Serbs". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
211. Richard Sisk (August 5, 1995). "TWO NAVY PLANES FIRE ON SERB MISSILE SITES". Daily News. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
212. "The Croatian Offensive". Los Angeles Times. August 8, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
213. Kovačević and Linta 2003, pp. 93-94
214. Sekulić 2000, pp. 171-246
215. Vrcelj 2002, pp. 212-222
216. Marko Attila Hoare (March 14, 2008). "How Croatia and the US prevented genocide with 'Operation Storm'". Henry Jackson Society. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
217. Barić, Nikica: Srpska pobuna u Hrvatskoj 1990.-1995., Golden marketing. Tehnička knjiga, Zagreb, 2005
218. 13 mei 2007. "RSK Evacuation Practise one month before Operation Storm". Nl.youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
219. Matt Prodger (August 5, 2005). "Evicted Serbs remember Storm". BBC News. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
220. "Croatia marks Storm anniversary". BBC News. August 5, 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
221. "World Refugee Survey — Croatia". Refugees.org. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
222. "Croatia's President Pledges To Retake Serb-Held Enclave". The New York Times. August 27, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
223. Chris Hedges (October 15, 1995). "Croatia Reported to Move Troops to Disputed Serb Region". The New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
224. "Croatian President Again Threatent Attack". The New York Times. November 5, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
225. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1037. S/RES/1037(1996) (1996) Retrieved 2008-09-06.
226. ^ Josip Čerina (2008). "Branitelji benkovačkog kraja u domovinskom ratu". Društvena istraživanja (in Croatian). 17 (3). Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences. ISSN 1330-0288. Retrieved December 16, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
227. Amy Fallon (April 2, 2010). "Serbian war crimes suspect Mile Bosnic arrested in Gloucester". The Guardian. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
228. Roger Cohen (January 12, 1995). "Croatia Is Set to End Mandate Of U.N. Force on Its Territory". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
229. "Croatia marks massacre in Vukovar". BBC News. November 18, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
230. Trevor Bormann (September 28, 2010). "The real captain Dragan". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved December 16, 2010.
231. Slavko Halužan (1999). "Vojna učinkovitost protupješačkih mina: Iskustva iz domovinskog rata". Polemos: časopis za interdisciplinarna istraživanja rata i mira (in Croatian). 2 (3–4). Croatian Sociological Association and Jesenski & Turk Publishing House. ISSN 1331–5595. Retrieved December 16, 2010. {{cite journal}}: Check |issn= value (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
232. Mario Dragun (May 27, 2008). "PRESS RELEASE 155/08". Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (Croatia). Retrieved December 16, 2010.
233. "Croatian leadership slates Jeremić comments". B92. May 28, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
234. Daniel Böhmer (October 17, 2009). "Warum sollte Serbien Mladic schützen?" (in German). Die Welt. Retrieved December 16, 2010. Boris Tadic: "Eine Täterrolle für Serbien muss ich ablehnen. Das war ein Bürgerkrieg, und daran war jeder beteiligt. Wir alle müssen uns unserer Verantwortung stellen" (Translation: "I must refuse the role of a perpetrator for Serbia. This was a civil war, and everyone was involved. We must all shoulder our responsibilities") {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
235. "PROSECUTOR v. DUSKO TADIC a/k/a "DULE"". ICTY. 1995-10-05. Retrieved 2010-09-09.(C. Characterization of the Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, paragraph 17)
236. ICTY (2002-10-22). "Milošević Indictment (IT-02-54) - paragraph 86, 109" (PDF). ICTY. Retrieved 2010-10-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |sprache= (help)
237. Carol J. Williams (December 14, 1991). "Serbian Refugees Uneasy in the Role of Occupiers". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
238. Meštrović.S (1996), Genocide After Emotion: The Postemotional Balkan War, Taylor & Francis Ltd, p.77-78. Books.google.se. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
239. Croatia. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
240. HIC Hrvatski spomenar - 21. kolovoza-31. kolovoza
     "Srbi s planine Vučjak u BiH neprekidno granatiraju Slavonski Brod"
241. HIC 26. listopada
     "Neprekinuta opća opasnost u Županji traje još od travnja 1992.......Srbi iz Bosne grad gađaju oko 12 ili oko 15 sati, kada je na ulicama najviše ljudi."
242. Hrvatsko kulturno vijeće Zdravko Tomac: Strah od istine, Jan 15, 2010, accessed Feb 7, 2010
243. Chuck Sudetic (October 20, 1991). "Aid Convoy Falls Victim in Croatia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
244. Chuck Sudetic (November 5, 1991). "Yugoslav Battles Rage on Eve of Talks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
245. Chuck Sudetic (November 7, 1991). "YUGOSLAV FIGHTING BREAKS CEASE-FIRE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
246. Chuck Sudetic (January 1, 1992). "U.N. Envoy Wins Yugoslav Peace Move". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
247. Antun Jelić (1994). "Child casualties in a Croatian community during the 1991-2 war". Archives of Disease in Childhood. 71 (6). BMJ Group: 540. ISSN 0003-9888. PMC 1030096. Retrieved January 5, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
248. "About the ICTY". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
249. Roy W. Gutman (December 31, 1998). "Spotlight on violations of international humanitarian law — The role of the media". International Review of the Red Cross (325). International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
250. "UN court increases Serb officer's sentence for Vukovar massacre". France24. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
251. "Hague triples Vukovar jail term". BBC News. May 5, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
252. "U.N. tribunal to rule in Vukovar massacre case". Reuters. 2007-09-25. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
253. Marlise Simons (June 30, 1998). "Serb Charged in Massacre Commits Suicide". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
254. Stephen Engelberg (May 5, 1991). "One More Dead as Clashes Continue in Yugoslavia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
255. Nation 2004, p. 5.
256. ^ "Milosevic Indictment: Text". BBC News. October 29, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
257. "Serbia war crimes prosecutor investigating 12 for 1991 mass murders of Croats". JURIST. May 30, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
258. "Croatia: Information on abuses carried out between April 1992 and September 1992 by Serbian military and paramilitary forces in Krajina generally and in particular in the places named in Response HRV16050.E". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. February 1, 1994. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
259. ^ "SUMMARY OF JUDGEMENT FOR MILAN MARTIĆ" (PDF). International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. June 12, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
260. "Croatia war-crimes suspect extradited". CNN International. November 16, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
261. Stephen Engelberg (December 19, 1991). "Villagers in Croatia Recount Massacre by Serbian Forces". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
262. "Serb leader jailed for war crimes". BBC News. March 10, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
263. "Milan Babic — Former dentist who founded the doomed Serb Republic of Krajina and initiated 'ethnic cleansing'". The Times. March 10, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
264. Chuck Sudetic (January 25, 1992). "Evidence in Massacre Points to Croats". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
265. "Croatia Admits Serb Civilians Were Killed". Los Angeles Times. October 3, 1995. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
266. "Dossier: Pakračka Poljana". Yupress.com excerpts from Feral Tribune. May 19, 1995. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
267. Davor Butković (2005-09-17). "Pobjeda pravde". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 2010-01-05.
268. "Vrhovni Sud Republike Hrvatske-Presuda i rješenje broj: I Kž 81/06-7" (in Croatian). Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia. 2006-05-10. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
269. Lukić, Slavica (10 December 2010). "Zbog ratnog zločina iz 1991. uhićen Tomislav Merčep!". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 December 2010.
270. "Croatian general accused of ethnic cleansing against Serbs goes on trial". The Independent. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
271. Marina Karlović-Sabolić (2001-09-15). "Prohujalo s Olujom". Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
272. "Statement by Justice Louise Arbour, Prosecutor of the ICTY during her visit to Zagreb, Croatia". ICTY. 20 July 1999. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
273. "Judges Grant Leave to Amend Operation Storm Indictment". ICTY. October 21 2005. Retrieved 19 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
274. Doder and Branson 1999, p. 81.
275. Nicholas Wood (March 18, 2006). "The End of Greater Serbia". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
276. "Obituary: Slobodan Milosevic". BBC. March 11, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
277. Decision of the ICTY Appeals Chamber; 18 April 2002; Reasons for the Decision on Prosecution Interlocutory Appeal from Refusal to Order Joinder; Paragraph 8
278. ^ "Serb leader Tadic apologises for 1991 Vukovar massacre". BBC News Service. November 4, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
279. ^ "Weighing the Evidence". Human Rights Watch. 2006-12-13. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
280. "CROATIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993". US Department of State. January 31, 1994. Retrieved December 13 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
281. Marlise Simons (April 24 2003). "Mystery Witness Faces Milosevic". New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
282. "Serbia and Croatia Agree to Diplomatic Relations". The New York Times. August 8, 1996. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
283. ^ "Preliminary Objections (Croatia v. Serbia)" (PDF). The International Court of Justice. 2008-18-11. Retrieved 2010-19-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
284. "Application Instituting Proceedings (Croatie c. Yugoslavie)" (PDF). The International Court of Justice. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2010-19-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
285. "Serbia files genocide lawsuit against Croatia". B92. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-19-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
286. "No court trial would be better for Zagreb". Blic. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-19-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
287. "B92 and Vreme Magazine Present the Documentary "The Unit"". B92. Retrieved December 29, 2010.

References

• Barić, Nikica (2005). Srpska pobuna u Hrvatskoj: 1990-1995 (in Croatian). Zagreb: Golden marketing-Tehnička knjiga. ISBN 9532122494, 9789532122497. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Blaskovich, Jerry (1997). Anatomy of deceit: an American physician's first-hand encounter with the realities of the war in Croatia. Dunhill Publishing. ISBN 0935016244, 9780935016246. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Beljo, Ante (1992). Greater Serbia: from ideology to aggression. Croatian Information Centre. ISBN 0919817300, 9780919817302. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Burg, Steven L.; Shoup, Paul S. (2000). The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina: ethnic conflict and international intervention. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 1563243091, 9781563243097. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Dominelli, Lena (2007). Revitalising communities in a globalising world. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0754644987, 9780754644989. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Doder, Dusko; Branson, Louise (1999). Milosevic: Portrait of a Tyrant. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0684843080, 9780684843087. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Europa Publications Limited (1998). Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Routledge. ISBN 1857430581, 9781857430585. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Finlan, Alastair (2004). The collapse of Yugoslavia, 1991-1999. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841768057, 9781841768052. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Frucht, Richard C. (2005). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576078000, 9781576078006. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Goldstein, Ivo (1999). Croatia: A History. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850655251, 9781850655251. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Kadijević, Veljko (1993). Moje viđenje raspada: vojska bez države (in Serbian). Beograd: Politika. ISBN 8676070474, 9788676070473. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Kovačević, Drago; Linta, Miodrag (2003). Kavez: Krajina u dogovorenom ratu (in Serbian). Beograd: Srpski demokratski forum. ISBN 8683759040, 9788683759040. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Mann, Michael (2005). The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521538548, 9780521538541. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Mesić, Stipe (2004). The demise of Yugoslavia: a political memoir. Central European University Press. ISBN 9639241814, 9789639241817. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Meštrović, Stjepan Gabriel (1996). Genocide after emotion: the postemotional Balkan War. Routledge. ISBN 0415122945, 9780415122948. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Nation, R. Craig (2004). War in the Balkans, 1991-2002. Lightning Source Inc. ISBN 1410217736, 9781410217738. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The three Yugoslavias: state-building and legitimation, 1918-2005. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253346568, 9780253346568. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Sekulić, Milisav (2000). Knin je pao u Beogradu (in Serbian). Nidda Verlag.
• Shawcross, William (2001). Deliver Us From Evil: Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743225775.
• Silber, Laura; Little, Allan (1997). Yugoslavia : Death of a Nation. Penguin Books. ISBN 0140262636, 9780140262636. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Thomas, Nigel (2006). The Yugoslav Wars: Slovenia & Croatia 1991-95. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841769630, 9781841769639. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Vrcelj, Marko (2002). Rat za Srpsku Krajinu: 1991-1995 (in Serbian). Beograd: Srpsko kulturno društvo "Zora".
• Wertheim, Eric (2007). Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 159114955X, 9781591149552. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
• Western European Union (1986). Proceedings — Assembly of Western European Union: Actes officiels — Assemblée de l'Union de l'europe. W.E.U. - University of Virginia.
• Zimmermann, Warren (1999). War in the Balkans: A Foreign Affairs Reader. Council on Foreign Relations. ISBN 0876092601, 9780876092606. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

External links

• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia , World Courts and Sense
• Article on onwar.com
• Croatia Between Aggression and Peace
• Ivo Skoric - A Story About the War in Croatia
• Template:Sr icon NIN Zloupotreba psihijatrije (Abuse of psychiatry)
• Images of the war on War Photo Limited
• Yugoslavia: Torture and deliberate and arbitrary killings in war zones A report by Amnesty International
• Croatian Independence from Yugoslavia by Alan Hanson

v t e Yugoslav Wars
Wars and conflicts	Log Revolution (1990) Slovenian War of Independence (1991) Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) Bosnian War (1992–1995) Croat–Bosniak War (1992–1994) Kosovo War (1998–99) Insurgency in the Preševo Valley (1999–2001) 2001 insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia (2001)
Background	SFR Yugoslavia Breakup of Yugoslavia
Anti-war protests	Belgrade Sarajevo YUTEL for Peace
Successor states	Republic of Croatia Republic of Slovenia Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Macedonia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY/SRJ)
Unrecognized entities	Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia (HRHB) Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (APZB) Republic of Kosova Serb Autonomous Regions Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia SAO Krajina SAO Western Slavonia Republika Srpska (RS) SAO Bosanska Krajina SAO Herzegovina SAO North-Eastern Bosnia SAO Romanija Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia Dubrovnik Republic
United Nations protectorate	UNTAES UNMIK
Armies	Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) Yugoslav Territorial Defence (TO) Slovenian Territorial Defence (TORS) Yugoslav Army (VJ) Croatian Army (HV) BiH Territorial Defence (TORBIH) Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina (SVK) Croatian Defence Council (HVO) Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK in R. Serbia) National Liberation Army (UÇK in R. Macedonia) Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB)
Military formations and volunteers	Croatian National Guard (ZNG) Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) White Eagles Serb Guard (SG) Serb Volunteer Guard (SDG) Scorpions Yellow Wasps Garda Panteri Dušan the Mighty Kninjas Serb Falcons [sr] Tobutski sokolovi Jackals Greek Volunteer Guard Wolves of Vučjak AKSH Green Berets (GB) Patriotic League (PL) Black Swans Bosnian mujahideen People's Defence of Western Bosnia (NOZB)
External factors	NATO IFOR SFOR KFOR EU (EUMM) United Nations (UN) UNPROFOR UNCRO
Politicians	Fikret Abdić Milan Babić Mate Boban Momir Bulatović Milo Đukanović Nijaz Duraković Vuk Drašković Goran Hadžić Alija Izetbegović Janez Janša Borisav Jović Mirko Jović Radovan Karadžić Vojislav Koštunica Momčilo Krajišnik Milan Kučan Ante Marković Milan Martić Stjepan Mesić Slobodan Milošević Ante Paradžik  X Dobroslav Paraga Lojze Peterle Biljana Plavšić Jadranko Prlić Jovan Rašković  † Ibrahim Rugova Vojislav Šešelj Haris Silajdžić Franjo Tuđman Krešimir Zubak
Top military commanders	Rahim Ademi Janko Bobetko Agim Çeku Wesley Clark Rasim Delić Sefer Halilović Veljko Kadijević Ratko Mladić Mile Novaković Dragoljub Ojdanić Života Panić Nebojša Pavković Momčilo Perišić Milivoj Petković Ridvan Qazimi  † Martin Špegelj Gojko Šušak
Other notable commanders	Mehmed Alagić Tihomir Blaškić Đorđe Božović  † Valentin Ćorić Jovan Divjak Atif Dudaković Ante Gotovina Zaim Imamović Adem Jashari  † Blaž Kraljević  X Vladimir Lazarević Veljko Milanković  (DOW) Mile Mrkšić Naser Orić Arif Pašalić Slobodan Praljak Ivica Rajić Željko Ražnatović Ljubiša Savić Stjepan Šiber Veselin Šljivančanin Vukašin Šoškoćanin  † Milan Tepić  † Milorad Ulemek Dragan Vasiljković Blago Zadro  †
Key foreign figures	Robert Badinter Lord Carrington Jimmy Carter Willy Claes Pieter Feith Richard Holbrooke Lord Owen Cyrus Vance Jacques Paul Klein Peter Galbraith Javier Solana Manfred Wörner
v t e Croatian War of Independence Part of the Yugoslav Wars Prelude Log Revolution SAO Krajina 1991 Pakrac clash Plitvice Lakes incident Siege of Kijevo Battle of Borovo Selo 1991 riot in Zadar 1991 protest in Split SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia Killings of Serbs in Vukovar Sisak killings Tenja killings Operation Stinger Dalj massacre Operation Labrador SAO Western Slavonia Banija villages killings Battle of Vukovar Battle of Osijek Battle of Gospić Petrinja killings Berak killings Battle of Kusonje Četekovac massacre Battle of the Barracks Siege of Varaždin Barracks Siege of Bjelovar Barracks Battle of Zadar Battle of Šibenik 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia Korana bridge killings Tovarnik massacre Siege of Dubrovnik Novo Selo Glinsko massacre Bombing of Banski dvori Široka Kula massacre Lovas killings Gospić massacre Baćin massacre Saborsko massacre Požega villages massacre Operation Otkos 10 Battle of Logorište Poljanak and Vukovići massacres Erdut killings Pula incident Battle of the Dalmatian channels Kostrići massacre Škabrnja massacre Vukovar massacre Novska murders Vance plan Murder of the Zec family Operation Whirlwind Paulin Dvor massacre Gornje Jame massacre Operation Orkan 91 Voćin massacre Joševica massacre Operation Devil's Beam Bruška massacre Vrsar airport bombing 1992 Sarajevo Agreement 1992 European Community Monitor Mission helicopter downing Operation Baranja Operation Jackal Battle of the Miljevci Plateau Operation Tiger (1992) Operation Liberated Land Battle of Konavle Operation Vlaštica 1993–94 Operation Maslenica Daruvar Agreement Operation Backstop Operation Medak Pocket Z-4 Plan Operation Winter '94 1995 Operation Leap 1 Operation Flash Medari massacre Zagreb rocket attack Operation Leap 2 Operation Summer '95 Operation Storm Kijani killings Golubić killings Uzdolje killings Bosanski Petrovac refugee column bombing Dvor massacre Komić killings Gošić killings Varivode massacre Operation Maestral 2 Timeline of the Croatian War of Independence Internment camps Begejci camp Bučje camp Kerestinec camp Knin camp Kuline prison camp Lora prison camp Marino Selo camp Ovčara camp Pakračka Poljana camp Sremska Mitrovica prison camp Stajićevo camp Velepromet camp Other Independence of Croatia Persecution of Croats in Serbia during the war in Croatia Erdut Agreement (UNTAES) Category Commons
v t e Bosnian War Part of the Yugoslav Wars Belligerents Bosniak side Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1st Corps 2nd Corps 3rd Corps 4th Corps 5th Corps 6th Corps 7th Corps Paramilitary Patriotic League Green Berets Croatian Defence Forces Bosnian mujahideen Croat side Croatian Defence Council 1OZ 2OZ 3OZ 4OZ Paramilitary Croatian Defence Forces Knights Serb side Army of Republika Srpska 1st Krajina Corps 2nd Krajina Corps 3rd Corps East Bosnia Corps Herzegovina Corps Sarajevo-Romanija Corps Drina Corps Paramilitary Wolves of Vučjak White Eagles Serb Volunteer Guard Scorpions Yellow Wasps Western Bosnian side National Defence of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia Prelude Milošević–Tuđman Karađorđevo meeting Zulfikarpašić–Karadžić agreement RAM Plan Serb Autonomous Regions Bosanska Krajina Herzegovina North-East Bosnia Romanija Establishment of the Croatian Community of Herzeg Bosnia Establishment of Republika Srpska Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum Sarajevo wedding attack Declaration of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Battle of Bosanski Brod Sijekovac killings Bijeljina massacre 1992 anti-war protests in Sarajevo 1992 Battle of Kupres Siege of Sarajevo Kazani pit killings Foča ethnic cleansing Bosanski Šamac ethnic cleansing Siege of Srebrenica Zvornik massacre Doboj Snagovo massacre Prijedor ethnic cleansing Sarajevo column incident Siege of Goražde Graz agreement Glogova massacre Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing Tuzla column incident Zaklopača massacre Siege of Doboj Bradina massacre Sarajevo bread line massacre Bijeli Potok massacre Pionirska Street fire Operation Jackal Višegrad massacres Bosanska Jagodina Paklenik Barimo Sjeverin Čemerno massacre Siege of Bihać Ahatovići massacre Croat–Bosniak War Operation Vrbas '92 Operation Corridor 92 Bikavac fire Killings in Bratunac and Srebrenica Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia Korićani Cliffs massacre Mičivode massacre Novoseoci massacre Gornja Jošanica massacre 1993 Kravica attack Duša killings Skelani massacre Štrpci Siege of Mostar Srebrenica shelling Ahmići massacre Trusina massacre Sovići and Doljani killings Zenica massacre Vranica case Dobrinja mortar attack Battle of Žepče Battle of Travnik (1993) Battle of Bugojno Operation Irma Operation Neretva '93 Grabovica massacre Mokronoge massacre Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia Inter-Bosniak conflict in Bosanska Krajina Stupni Do massacre Operation Deny Flight Križančevo Selo killings 1994 Operation Tvigi 94 First Markale massacre Banja Luka incident Washington Agreement Establishment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Operation Bøllebank Attack on Spin magazine journalists Operation Tiger Operation "Breza '94" Battle of Kupres Operation Amanda Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347 Operation Spider Operation Winter '94 1995 Operation Vlašić Operation Leap 1 Battle of Orašje Operation Leap 2 Split Agreement Operation Summer '95 Pale air strikes Tuzla shelling Battle of Vrbanja Bridge Srebrenica massacre Kravica Battle of Vozuća Operation Miracle Operation Storm Second Markale massacre NATO bombing campaign Operation Mistral 2 Operation Sana Operation Una Operation Southern Move Exodus of Sarajevo Serbs Dayton Agreement Establishment of Bosnia and Herzegovina Internment camps Silos Manjača Liplje Luka Vilina Vlas Omarska Keraterm Trnopolje Sušica Čelebići Musala Batković Dretelj Uzamnica Heliodrom Gabela Vojno Kamenica camp Aspects Ethnic cleansing and massacres Bosnian genocide Bosnian genocide denial Internment camps Rape Peace plans NATO intervention Foreign support Foreign fighters Timeline of the Bosnian War (Timeline of the Croat–Bosniak War) Category Commons
v t e Breakup of Yugoslavia Overview Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–1992) Timeline of the breakup of Yugoslavia (1980–2008) Background Josip Broz Tito (until 1980) Brotherhood and unity (until 1990) League of Communists of Yugoslavia (until 1990) Croatian Spring (1967–1971) 1981 protests in Kosovo Islamic Declaration (1983) SANU Memorandum (1986) Contributions to the Slovene National Program (1987) Slovene Spring (1987–1988) Agrokomerc Affair (1987) 8th session of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia (1987) JBTZ trial (1988) Hyperinflation in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1980s) Events and actors Anti-bureaucratic revolution (1988–1989) Gazimestan speech (1989) 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (1990) Independence of Croatia (1989–1992) Log Revolution (1990–1991) Milošević–Tuđman Karađorđevo meeting (1991) RAM Plan (1991) Brioni Agreement (1991) Role of the media in the breakup of Yugoslavia Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia (1991–1993) v t e Independence referendums in Yugoslavia Republics and provinces Slovenia (1990) Croatia (1991) Macedonia (1991) Kosovo (1991) Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992) Montenegro (1992) Montenegro (2006) Autonomy SAO Krajina (1990) Sandžak (1991) Srpska (1991) Ilirida (1992) Eastern Slavonia (1997) Macedonia (2004) Consequences Yugoslav Wars (1991-2001) Ethnic cleansing Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) Ten-Day War (1991) Bosnian War (1992–1995) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–) Graz agreement (1992) Sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2001) Hyperinflation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–1994) Dayton Agreement (1996) Joint Criminal Enterprise Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control (1996) International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1993–2017) Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević (2000) Nationalism Greater Albania Greater Croatia United Macedonia Greater Serbia United Slovenia Anti-Serbian sentiment Islamophobia Albanian nationalism Bosniak nationalism Croatian nationalism Macedonian nationalism Montenegrin nationalism Serbian nationalism Serbian–Montenegrin unionism Slovenian nationalism Yugoslavism Category
Category Commons

• Conflicts in 1991
• Conflicts in 1992
• Conflicts in 1993
• Conflicts in 1994
• Conflicts in 1995
• Croatian War of Independence
• History of Croatia
• Wars involving Croatia
• Wars involving the Balkans
• Wars of independence
• Second Yugoslavia
• Croatia–Serbia relations
• Political history of Serbia