Doboj shelling | |
---|---|
Part of the Croat–Bosniak War | |
Location | Doboj, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Date | 1992 — 1994 |
Target | Serbs |
Attack type | Mass killing |
Deaths | 99 killed, 399 wounded |
Perpetrators | Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) |
The Doboj shelling was carried out by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) during its attacks on the city in 1992 and 1994 in the Bosnian War. [1] [2] The ARBiH fired at the city with its artillery, resulting in the deaths of many Serbian civilians. No one has yet been held accountable for the shelling of the city and the civilian casualties.
Doboj is one of the largest cities in Bosnia and was therefore of tactical significance at the beginning of the Bosnian War as well as being a corridor to the settlement of Vozuća. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) took control of the city at the start of the war but the city's location made it vulnerable to attacks from both the east and the west.[ citation needed ]
In 1992, after the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) took control of Derventa, they headed south and received help from the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). This allowed them to attack Doboj from the direction of Tešanjko, Klokotnica and Kostajnica, but the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) managed to defend the city and launched Operation Corridor 92.[ citation needed ]
In 1994, the ARBiH tried to take Doboj, all of Trebeva and Vozuća, in Operation Brana 94, but failed.[ citation needed ]
On 12 July 1992, during the midday hours, a strong Muslim-Croat coalition force attacked Doboj. The city was then defended by one reinforced battalion of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). After regrouping, the VRS stabilized the defense lines around 17:00, and the last shock wave of the opposing forces occurred after midnight when they intended to evacuate their dead and wounded. In that attack, Bosniak and Croat forces shelled the city killing several dozen civilians and wounding several hundred in the process. [3]
In 1993, there were no significant attacks on the city. Four young people were killed on 30 April 1994, and five were seriously wounded during the shelling of the narrowest part of the city from the position of the ARBiH on April 30, 1994. The victims were Daliborka Blagojević and her fiancé Nedeljko Tanasić, Stojanka Jović, who was expelled from Maglaj, and Ljilja Vukosavović, who was expelled from Gračanica. They were killed on the spot by a 120-millimeter shell. [4] [5]
In 1994, ARBiH soldiers without HVO help but with a professional and better equipped army than before, attacked the city. The first attack was from 17 to 23 October and the second lasted from 8–10 November. ARBiH soldiers invaded the city and killed and wounded civilians, but the VRS drove ARBiH out of the city in time and prevented potentially larger casualties. [6] In the attacks, several dozen civilians were killed and several more were wounded. In 1995, there was no significant attack on the city, but after the fall of Vozuća, there was a threat that the ARBiH and the Bosnian Mujahideen would reach Doboj. The VRS however, managed to slow down their offensive and the threat was averted. [7]
Operation Sana was the final military offensive of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in western Bosnia and Herzegovina and the last major battle of the Bosnian War. It was launched from the area of Bihać on 13 September 1995, against the Army of Republika Srpska, and involved advances towards Bosanski Petrovac, Sanski Most and Bosanska Krupa. At the same time, the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council were engaging the VRS in Operation Maestral 2 further to the southeast. After an initial 70-kilometre (43 mi) advance, VRS reinforcements managed to stop the ARBiH short of Sanski Most and Novi Grad, and reversed some of the ARBiH's territorial gains in a counterattack. After a part of the ARBiH 5th Corps was threatened with defeat around the town of Ključ, the ARBiH requested assistance from the HV.
Operation Neretva '93 was an Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) operation against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in September 1993 on a 200 km long front from Gornji Vakuf to south of Mostar, one of its largest of the year, during the Croat–Bosniak War. The ARBiH made limited gains in the area of northern Herzegovina and around Mostar, but did not achieve a breakthrough to the southern Neretva, where the HVO retained control. The operation was halted in October. During the operation, dozens of Croat civilians were killed in the Grabovica and Uzdol massacres.
The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia, that lasted from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994. It is often referred to as a "war within a war" because it was part of the larger Bosnian War. In the beginning, the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) fought together in an alliance against the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). By the end of 1992, however, tensions between Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats increased. The first armed incidents between them occurred in October 1992 in central Bosnia. The military alliance continued until early 1993, when it mostly fell apart and the two former allies engaged in open conflict.
Operation Corridor 92 was the largest operation conducted during the Bosnian War by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) against the forces of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Croatian Army (HV) in the Bosanska Posavina region of northern Bosnia and Herzegovina between 24 June and 6 October 1992. The objective of the offensive was to re-establish a road link between the city of Banja Luka in the west of the country and the eastern parts of the territory controlled by the Bosnian Serbs. The offensive was prompted by the capture of Derventa by the HV and the HVO – a move that blocked the single overland road between the VRS-controlled territories.
Operation Vrbas '92 was a military offensive undertaken by the Army of Republika Srpska in June–October 1992, during the Bosnian War. The goal of the operation was the destruction of a salient around the central Bosnian town of Jajce, which was held by the Croatian Defence Council and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The intensity of fighting varied considerably and involved several major VRS offensive efforts interspersed by relative lulls in fighting. Jajce fell to the VRS on 29 October 1992, and the town's capture was followed by the destruction of all its mosques and Roman Catholic churches.
The Siege of Mostar was fought during the Bosnian War first in 1992 and then again later in 1993 to 1994. Initially lasting between April 1992 and June 1992, it involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) fighting against the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. That phase ended in June 1992 after the success of Operation Jackal, launched by the Croatian Army (HV) and HVO. As a result of the first siege around 90,000 residents of Mostar fled and numerous religious buildings, cultural institutions, and bridges were damaged or destroyed.
The Battle of Kupres was a battle of the Bosnian War, fought between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) on one side and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on the other from 20 October to 3 November 1994. It marks the first tangible evidence of the Bosniak–Croat alliance set out in the Washington Agreement of March 1994, brokered by the United States to end the Croat–Bosniak War fought between the ARBiH and the HVO in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ARBiH and the HVO were not coordinated at first, rather they launched separate operations aimed at capture of Kupres.
The Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia was signed by Alija Izetbegović, President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Franjo Tuđman, President of the Republic of Croatia, in Zagreb on 21 July 1992 during the Bosnian and Croatian wars for independence from Yugoslavia. It established cooperation, albeit inharmonious, between the two and served as a basis for joint defense against Serb forces. It also placed the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) under the command of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH).
Operation Una was a military offensive conducted by the Croatian Army against the Army of Republika Srpska in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18–19 September 1995, during the Bosnian War. The operation entailed a crossing of the Una and Sava rivers to establish bridgeheads at Novi Grad, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Kostajnica and opposite Jasenovac to allow for a subsequent advance towards Prijedor and Banja Luka.
Operation Southern Move was the final Croatian Army (HV) and Croatian Defence Council (HVO) offensive of the Bosnian War. It took place in western Bosnia and Herzegovina on 8–11 October 1995. Its goal was to help the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) whose positions around the town of Ključ, captured by them during Operation Sana, were endangered by a counteroffensive by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS). The objectives of Operation Southern Move included the capture of the town of Mrkonjić Grad and positions on the Manjača Mountain which would allow the HV and the HVO to directly threaten Banja Luka, the largest city controlled by Bosnian Serbs. Finally, the offensive was also aimed at capturing the Bočac Hydroelectric Power Station, the last significant source of electricity under VRS control in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The combined HV and HVO forces were under the overall command of HV Major General Ante Gotovina.
Operation Bura was a joint offensive conducted by the Croatian Defence Council and the Croatian Army on the territories held by the Nevesinje and Bileća brigades of the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War.
The Siege of Smoluća was a siege conducted by the ARBiH, setting up an enclave around Smoluća Gornja. The civilians were under inhumane conditions: they were left without water, food, and electricity for months. ARBiH and Croat forces soldiers blocked Red Cross vehicles from entering the town, which had medical supplies to treat the wounded. People of the town organized defenses and held off the Bosnian paramilitaries until the Garda Panteri arrived, safely evacuating the civilians of the town, and capturing the enclave set up the ARBiH. The siege ended on 28 August 1992. Serbian forces successfully transported all the civilians to safe places. After the civilians were escorted safely, Croat and Bosniak forces robbed and destroyed the town.
The 110th Usora Brigade was a unit of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO). It was one of the most elite brigades of the (HVO). The unit saw fierce against the Army of Republika Srpska near the Doboj area. The brigade was disbanded in 1995 following the signing of the Dayton agreement, which ended the Bosnian War.
The Battle of Hrasnica on 4 August 1992 was a battle fought between the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH). The Bosnian Muslim units attacked the Bosnian Serbs in Hrasnica by passing through the factory of "Famos" but their attack was repelled and they suffered heavy losses.
The Attack on Doboj was carried out on July 12, 1992, on St. Peter's Day, in the suburban settlement of Vila and Putnikovo brdo during the Bosnian War. It was a joint attack by Bosnian and Croatian military forces to capture Doboj and threaten the course of the Corridor 92 operation.
The Siege of Kotor Varoš took place during the Bosnian War and lasted from May to August 1992. The conflict involved the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on one side, against the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), in the village of Kotor Varoš. Kotor Varoš was surrounded by the VRS and heavy fighting took place throughout the summer of 1992, ending with the fall of the village and capture of Jajce by the VRS following Operation Vrbas '92.
The Attack on Doboj in 1994 was the second attempt by the ARBiH to capture Doboj. During 1994, Muslim forces improved their operational capability and combat readiness, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd Corps areas of responsibility. The units were replenished, and the soldiers received better weapons. With this strengthening, the Muslim forces were able to seriously threaten the positions of the 1st Krajina Corps of the VRS, especially in the Doboj and Trebava areas.
The Battle for Meoršje began on 4 October 1993, one of the key skirmishes between Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the fate of the Kreševo region and the entire Lepenica Valley. It ended with the victory of the forces of the Croatian Defense Council and marked a turning point in this area.
The battle for the Hrašće hill on Pješčari hill above Lašvanska dolina was a battle between the HVO and the ARBiH. The site of the battle is less than two kilometers from the main road Kiseljak-Busovača-Vitez-Travnik. In order to conquer the Croatian territories from the Bosniak-Muslim aggressors, it was important to occupy the Hrašće hill.
The massacre in Vrbanja is the name for a war crime committed by HVO soldiers from July 17 to 28, 1993, during the conflict between the HVO and ARBiH.