Banija villages killings | |
---|---|
Location | Villages in Banija, near Sisak, Croatia |
Date | 22 August 1991 |
Target | Croatian Serbs |
Attack type | Mass killing |
Deaths | 15 |
Perpetrators | Croatian Special Police (MUP) Croatian Army (HV) |
The Banija villages killings was the mass murder of Croatian Serbs by Croatian forces on 22 August 1991 in several villages of the Banija region.
In the spring of 1991 the armed conflict in Croatia began and several villages near Sisak, including Blinjski Kut and Kinjačka, were soon occupied by Serbian paramilitary forces. [1] According to the Croatian Government, on 22 August 1991 Croatian forces carried out a military operation codenamed "Night Guard", in which they attempted to regain control from Serbian forces over several villages in the Sisak area, including Blinjski Kut. [1]
On 22 August 1991, Croatian forces carried out military action on majority Serb villages of Blinjski Kut, Kinjačka Gornja, Kinjačka Donja, Blinjska Greda, Bestrma, Trnjane, Čakala and Brdjane, in which 15 people were killed. [2] Most of the casualties were civilians, but some clashed with Croatian forces, as evidenced by the deaths of five soldiers. [2]
Sisak is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, 57 km (35 mi) southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavina begins, with an elevation of 99 m. The city's total population in 2021 was 40,185 of which 27,886 live in the urban settlement (naselje).
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