Ivanovo Selo massacre

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Ivanovo Selo massacre
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
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Ivanovo Selo
Ivanovo Selo on the map of Croatia, JNA/SAO Krajina-held areas in late 1991 are highlighted in red
Location Ivanovo Selo, Croatia
Coordinates 45°40′24″N17°15′12″E / 45.673440°N 17.253310°E / 45.673440; 17.253310
Date21 September 1991
Target Croatian Czech civilians
Attack type
 Mass murder
Deaths7 [1]
Perpetrators Serb rebels

The Ivanovo Selo massacre was the mass murder of ethnic Czech civilians by Serb rebels on 21 September 1991, in the village of Ivanovo Selo, during the Croatian War of Independence.

Contents

Background

The village of Ivanovo Selo is located in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County of Central Croatia. In 1991, the village had a population of 441 inhabitants, of which 335 were ethnically Czech, followed by Croats, Hungarians and Serbs. [2]

With the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, clashes between Croatian government and Serb rebel forces for the control of the Bilogora region of Western Slavonia intensified by September 1991.

Anticipating the conflict might reach Ivanovo Selo itself, 30 children from the village were evacuated to Czechoslovakia on the 28 June 1991. [3] [4]

Killings

On 21 September 1991, local Serb rebels from surrounding villages attacked Ivanovo Selo, which was defended at the time by local volunteers. After a mortar attack, Serb forces advanced into the village from three directions. [5] Upon entering the village, Serb rebels began to burn and loot civilian homes, forcing around 20 people at gunpoint to leave their basements and march ahead of them towards the village square as human shields, as a means to force those defending the village to surrender. [6] [7]

The captured civilians that had been lined up against a wall in the village square were suddenly hit by a rocket launched from a Serb armoured vehicle. [8] It is believed this incident was caused by a misunderstanding, the Serbs in the armoured vehicle believing they were being fired upon. [9]

Five civilians and one Serb soldier were killed in the explosion, another six civilians were wounded. [10] Croatian reinforcements arrived soon after from the nearby town of Daruvar, forcing the Serb forces to withdraw from Ivanovo Selo. [11] During their retreat, Serbs forces killed another two civilians. [12]

After fully recapturing the village, those wounded in the massacre were immediately sent for hospital treatment in Daruvar. Two days later, those killed were buried in a common grave. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ "Massacre at Ivanovo Selo-The Most Tragic Day For The Czech Community in Croatia during the Homeland War" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "Попис становништва 2011". Државни завод за статистику РХ. 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Vzpomínka na krajany v Chorvatsku: 21. září 1991 tam deset z nich přišlo o život. V obci Ivanovo Selo na ně dodnes vzpomínají" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Od útoku na Ivanovo Selo v Chorvatsku uteklo už dvanáct let" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Massacre at Ivanovo Selo-The Most Tragic Day For The Czech Community in Croatia during the Homeland War" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "Massacre at Ivanovo Selo-The Most Tragic Day For The Czech Community in Croatia during the Homeland War" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "TUŽNO SJEĆANJE NA ŽRTVE POKOLJA U IVANOVU SELU" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Na današnji dan, 21. rujna 1991. godine, pobunjeni Srbi počinili su okrutan zločin nad civilnim stanovništvom u Ivanovom Selu kraj Grubišnog Polja" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Vzpomínka na krajany v Chorvatsku: 21. září 1991 tam deset z nich přišlo o život. V obci Ivanovo Selo na ně dodnes vzpomínají" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Na današnji dan, 21. rujna 1991. godine, pobunjeni Srbi počinili su okrutan zločin nad civilnim stanovništvom u Ivanovom Selu kraj Grubišnog Polja" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Massacre at Ivanovo Selo-The Most Tragic Day For The Czech Community in Croatia during the Homeland War" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "TUŽNO SJEĆANJE NA ŽRTVE POKOLJA U IVANOVU SELU" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  13. ↑ "Massacre at Ivanovo Selo-The Most Tragic Day For The Czech Community in Croatia during the Homeland War" . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
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