Operation Prijedor '95

Operation Prijedor '95
Part of the Bosnian War
Bihać Banja Luka Sarajevo Prijedor Sanski Most Objectives of Operation Prijedor ( ) on the map of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Date 12–20 October 1995 Location Around Prijedor and Sanski Most Result Army of Republika Srpska victory Army of Republika Srpska successfully defended Prijedor municipality ARBiH failed to capture the remaining parts of Sanski Most Territorial changes Establishment of Oštra Luka in the Dayton Agreement
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Ratko Mladić Željko Ražnatović Radmilo Zeljaja	Atif Dudaković Mehmed Alagić
Units involved
Army of Republika Srpska 1st Krajina Corps 1st Armored Brigade 65th Protection Motorized Regiment 43rd Prijedor Motorized Brigade 1st Military Police Battalion 5th Kozara Light Infantry Brigade Serb Volunteer Guard	Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 5th Corps 7th Corps
Strength
12,000–16,000	15,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
1 civilian killed, 18 injured

Operation Prijedor '95 was the code name of the VRS operation to defend Prijedor. This was also one of the last battles of the Bosnian War. Goal of the ARBiH was to recapture the remaining parts of the Sanski Most municipality and advance north in to Prijedor capturing as much land as possible. ARBiH forces tried to capture Oštra Luka and then Prijedor, but in the process threatened the position of Sanski Most. ^{[1] [2]}

Timeline of Operation

On 12 October 1995, the ceasefire entered into force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the commander of the 5th Corps of the ARBiH, General Atif Dudaković, ignored the truce and ordered his troops to continue the offensive and to occupy Prijedor and Banja Luka. under the attack of the 43rd Prijedor Motorized Brigade of the VRS, in the northeastern parts of Sanski Most. ^[1] Which forced the forces of the 5th Corps to suspend offensive actions and go on the defensive, where they defend Sanski Most from the counteroffensive of the VRS units for the next week. ARBiH forces suffered heavy losses on the line Koprivna — Ališići — Usorci, and there was a possibility that Sanski Most would fall under the control of Republika Srpska. From 13 to 17 October, 64 shells were fired from the direction of Sanski Most towards the narrower part of the city of Prijedor, but without significant success. In that Muslim bombing, one person was killed and 18 were wounded. The fighting was suspended on 20 October. ^[1]

Aftermath

When the Dayton Agreement map was completed in December 1995, ^[3] the accords were signed by Slobodan Milošević, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović. The agreement left about half (49%) of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the hands of the Bosnian Serbs. The Prijedor municipality remains in the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia. ^[4] The part of the municipality of Sanski Most that remained in Serbian hands until the end of the war became its own municipality under the name of Oštra Luka. ^[5]

References

1. Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. pp. 390–391. ISBN   9780160664724.
2. Christia, Fotini (2012). Alliance Formation in Civil Wars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-13985-175-6.
3. "Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia". US Department of State. 30 March 1996. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2006.
4. "A Prijedor Timeline: 1980 to 1995" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2024.
5. "B&H 2013 census - Oštra Luka Municipality" . Retrieved 31 August 2020.

Sources

• Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis (2002). Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995, Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. ISBN   978-0-16-066472-4.
• Meier, Viktor (1999). Yugoslavia: a history of its demise. Routledge. ISBN   9780415185967.