The following is a list of massacres that occurred in the Croatian War of Independence. Numbers may be approximate.
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Borovo Selo massacre | 2 May 1991 | Borovo Selo | 12 | Croatian policemen killed at Borovo Selo by Serb paramilitaries. Some of them were found to have been mutilated, their ears cut, their eyes gouged out and their throats slit.[1] [2] | |
Killings of Serbs in Vukovar | May-July 1991 | Vukovar and surroundings | 43-120 | Kidnappings and summary executions of ethnic Serbs living in and near Vukovar during the summer of 1991 by Croatian forces under the command of Tomislav Merčep.[3] [4] | |
Sisak killings | July 1991-June 1992 | Sisak | 24-107 | Illegal detainment, torture and killings of at least 24 Serbian civilians from Sisak by members of the HV and police forces. Other reports claim that up to 107 Serbian civilians were murdered or disappeared during this time period[5] | |
Tenja massacre | July–November 1991 | Tenja | 29 | Members of the Serbian Volunteer Guard, Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) forces, and local Serb TO police units killed 29 Croat civilians the village of Tenja.[6] | |
Osijek killings | July–December 1991 | Osijek | 11 | Serb civilians killed by Croat paramilitaries, led by Branimir Glavaš.[7] | |
Operation Stinger | 26-27 July 1991 | Banovina | 22 | Forces of the SAO Krajina, an unrecognized Croatian Serb region, killed 22 Croat civilians as well as captured policemen in Glina, Kozibrod and Struga, where the rebel Serb forces employed a human shield consisting of Croat civilians taken from their homes in Struga and the nearby village of Zamlača. | |
Struga and Kuljani killings | 26 July 1991 | Struga and Kuljani, near Dvor | 17 | Rebel Serb forces killed seventeen Croat civilians in Struga and Kuljani, near Dvor. This is reportedly believed to be the first mass-killings of civilians during the Croatian War of Independence.[8] | |
Dvor medical centre massacre | 26 July 1991 | Dvor | 10 | SAO Krajina forces killed eight wounded Croat civilians and two police officers who were being treated at a medical centre during the capture of Dvor. | |
Aljmaš massacre | August 1991 | Aljmaš | 58 | JNA forces from the 51st Mechanised Brigade killed 58 Croat civilians after capturing Aljmaš.[9] | |
Dalj massacre | 1 August 1991-May 1992 | Dalj | 135 | SAO Krajina forces, TO units and Serbian Volunteer Guard members massacre Croatian police and ZNG POWs, Croat and Hungarian civilians. | |
Sarvaš massacre | 2 August 1991 | Sarvaš | 9 | Croatian police and ZNG forces massacre 9 Serb civilians after attacking the village. | |
Lovinac massacre | 8 August 1991 | Lovinac | 5 | SAO Krajina paramilitary units massacred 5 elderly Croat civilians in Lovinac.[10] | |
Kraljevčani and Pecki killings | 14 and 16 August 1991 | Kraljevčani and, near Petrinja | 9 | Serb paramilitaries killed five Croat civilians in Kraljevčani and then another four Croat civilians in nearby .[11] | |
Banija villages killings | 22 August 1991 | Blinjski Kut and neighbouring villages | 15 | ZNG forces killed 15 Serb civilians and POWs. | |
Skela massacre | 29 August 1991 | Skela, near Glina | 10 | 10 Croat civilians killed by local Serb rebels.[12] | |
Berak killings | September 1991 | Berak, Croatia | 45 | 45 Croats killed by Serb forces throughout September 1991, during the Battle of Vukovar.[13] | |
Petrinja killings | September 1991–June 1992 | Petrinja | 250+ | After the fall of Petrinja to Serb forces in September 1991, more than 250 Croat civilians and POWs were killed during the occupation.[14] | |
Četekovac massacre | 3 September 1991 | Četekovac, Balinci, Čoljug, near Podravska Slatina | 22 | Serb paramilitaries massacred 20 Croat civilians and 2 PoWs.[15] | |
Sajmište killings | 5 September 1991 | , Vukovar | 120 | JNA and Serb paramilitaries killed 120 Croat civilians after seizing the Sajmište suburb, during the Battle of Vukovar.[16] | |
Pakrac killings | 6-14 September 1991 | Pakrac municipality | 176 | Croats killed by JNA and Serb paramilitary groups during the occupation of Pakrac and surrounding areas.[17] | |
Toranj massacre | 8 September 1991 | Toranj, Mali Banovac, Batinjani, near Pakrac | 12 | Croat civilians massacred by SAO Krajina rebels.[18] | |
Kusonje massacre | 9 September 1991 | Kusonje | 7 | SAO Krajina forces massacre seven Croat POWs. | |
Jasenice massacre | 11 September 1991 | Jasenice and Meki Doci | 16 | 10 elderly Croat civilians from Jasenice and another 6 civilians from the nearby hamlet of Meki Doci were massacred by Serb paramilitaries.[19] | |
Korana massacre | 13 September 1991 | Korana, near Karlovac | 13 | Croat forces massacre thirteen JNA POWs over the Korana bridge, near Karlovac. | |
Trpinja massacre | 14 September–November 1991 | Trpinja | 24 | Croat civilians and POWs massacred by Serb paramilitaries.[20] | |
Ivanovo Selo massacre | 21 September 1991 | Ivanovo Selo | 7 | Seven Czech civilians massacred by Serb paramilitaries. | |
Svinjarevci massacre | 22 September 1991 | Svinjarevci | 34 | Thirty-four Croat civilians killed by the JNA and Serb paramilitaries.[21] | |
Tovarnik massacre | 22 September 1991 | Tovarnik | 80 | JNA forces killed 80 Croat civilians during and after capturing the village of Tovarnik in September 1991.[22] | |
Grabovac attack | 26 September 1991 | Grabovac | 3 killed, 5 wounded | JNA and rebel Serb mortar attack on a refugee camp near Grabovac killed three Croat civilians (including two children) and wounded five others.[23] [24] | |
Antin massacre | 29 September 1991 | Antin and Korođ | 27 killed, 10 wounded | A civilian refugee column, fleeing a JNA attack, was deliberately shelled by mortar fire between the villages of Antin and Korođ.[25] | |
Donji Čaglić massacre | 2 October 1991 | Donji Čaglić | 10 | Serb paramilitaries and JNA reservists killed 10 Croat civilians.[26] | |
Bogdanovci killings | 2 October-10 November 1991 | Bogdanovci, near Vukovar | 87 | 87 Croat civilians were killed by JNA forces and Serb paramilitary groups, during the occupation of Bogdanovci.[27] | |
Novo Selo Glinsko massacre | 3 and 16 October 1991 | Novo Selo Glinsko, near Glina | 32 | SAO Krajina forces massacred thirty-two Croat civilians in two separate incidents in October 1991, in the village of Novo Selo Glinsko, near Glina.[28] | |
Lovas killings | 10–18 October 1991 | Lovas and Opatovac | 70 | Serb forces killed 70 Croats in the village of Lovas.[29] A total of around 90 Croats were killed in Lovas by Serb forces between October and November 1991.[30] | |
Borovo Naselje executions | Early-mid October 1991 | Borovo Naselje, Vukovar | 15 | Serbia alleges that ZNG forces tortured and executed 15 Serb civilians in Borovo Naselje who were taken from shelters.[31] | |
Široka Kula massacre | 13 October 1991 | Široka Kula, near Gospić | 41 | SAO Krajina police force massacre of Croat civilians in the village of Široka Kula. | |
Gospić massacre | 16–18 October 1991 | Gospić | 100 | About 100 Serb civilians massacred by Croatian forces over a period of several days in October 1991. | |
Baćin massacre | 21 October 1991-February 1992 | Baćin, near Hrvatska Dubica | 118 | SAO Krajina paramilitaries killed 118 civilians, apart from Croats two Serbs. | |
Tordinci massacre | 25 October 1991 | Tordinci | 22 | Twenty-two Croat civilians massacred by the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade of the JNA, supported by Serb paramilitaries[32] | |
Glinska Poljana massacre | 27 October 1991 | Glinska Poljana | 13 | Serb paramilitaries killed 13 Croat civilians.[33] | |
Lipovača killings | 28 October 1991 and 1 January 1992 | Lipovača, near Rakovica | 12 | Serb rebel forces committed two massacres against Croat civilians in Lipovača. Seven civilians (all members of the Brozinčević family) were killed on 28 October 1991, while another five civilians were killed on 1 January 1992.[34] | |
Požega villages massacre | 29 October 1991 | Čečavac, Čečavački Vučjak, Jeminovac, Ruševac and Šnjegavić, near Požega | 41 | Croat forces killed at least 41 Serb civilians across several Serb villages near Požega. | |
Bapska killings | October–November 1991 | Bapska | 17 | Croatia alleges that SAO Krajina forces killed 17 Croats.[35] | |
Lužac massacre | 2 November 1991 | , near Vukovar | 69 | Members of the Serbian Paramilitary group, Arkan's Tigers, and JNA forces killed 69 Croat civilians in Lužac, during the Battle of Vukovar.[36] | |
Staro Selo massacre | 4 November 1991 | Staro Selo | 10 | Ten Serb civilians massacred by Croatian forces. | |
Bizovac attack | 7 November 1991 | Bizovac | 8 killed, 20+ injured | JNA air attack on civilian areas in the centre of Bizovac killed 8 and wounded more than 20 people.[37] | |
Murder of the Zec family | 7 November 1991 | Zagreb | 3 | Ethnic Serb family of three murdered by five Croatian militiamen; two family members survived. The murderers were apprehended, but released after a controversial court decision in 1992. The Croatian government agreed to compensate the surviving family members in a 2004 court settlement.[38] | |
Poljanak and Vukovići massacres | 7 November 1991 | Poljanak and Vukovići, near Slunj | 10 | Local Serb TO forces and a special JNA unit killed 10 Croat civilians in the villages of Poljanak and Vukovići, in the Plitvice lakes area.[39] | |
Saborsko massacre | 12 November 1991 | Saborsko | 29 | Serb paramilitaries kill 29 Croats in the village of Saborsko. | |
Kostrići massacre | 15 November 1991 | Kostrići | 16 | Serb paramilitary unit killed 16 Croats. | |
Majur massacres | 15 November 1991 | Majur, Graboštani and Stubalj | 38 | On the same day the Kostrići massacre occurred, the same Serb paramilitary unit massacred another 38 Croat civilians in the nearby villages of Majur, Graboštani and Stubalj.[40] | |
Slunj massacres | 16 November 1991 – 1995 | Slunj and neighbouring areas, including Cetingrad and Rakovica | 297 | Serb forces killed Croat civilians in Slunj and surrounding areas throughout the occupation. The majority were killed between November 1991 and the Spring of 1992.[41] | |
Škabrnja massacre | 18 November 1991 | Škabrnja and Nadin | 67 | Serb paramilitaries killed 48 Croat civilians[42] and five Croatian POWs in the village of Škabrnja,[43] and 14 civilians in the village of Nadin.[44] | |
Borovo Naselje massacre | 19 November 1991 | Borovo Naselje, Vukovar | 166 | JNA and other Serb forces massacred 166 local civilians and POWs after the capture of Borovo Naselje.[45] [46] | |
Vukovar massacre | 20 November 1991 | Vukovar | 264 | A mostly Croatian group of 263 men and 1 woman (including civilians and POWs), of whom 194 have been identified, were murdered by members of the Serb militias following the JNA withdrawal from Ovčara after it brought those patients there from the Vukovar hospital.[47] [48] | |
Novska killings | 21 November 1991 & 18 December 1991 | Novska | 7 | Two separate instances of mass murder of ethnic Serbs in the town of Novska.[49] [50] [51] | |
Dabar massacre | 21 November 1991 | Dabar, near Vrhovine | 7 | SAO Krajina paramilitaries tortured and killed 7 Croat civilians.[52] | |
Laslovo massacre | 23 November 1991 | Laslovo | 6 | 6 elderly Croat and Hungarian civilians massacred by Arkan's Tigers.[53] | |
Divoš massacre | early December 1991 | Divoš | 24 | Serb civilians massacred by Croatian forces. | |
Paulin Dvor massacre | 11 December 1991 | Paulin Dvor, near Osijek | 19 | Croatian Army (HV) soldiers massacred 18 Serbs and 1 Hungarian in the village of Paulin Dvor. | |
Gornje Jame massacre | 11 December 1991 | Gornje Jame | 16 | 16 civilians (15 Croats and 1 Serb) killed by Šiltovi Serbian paramilitary unit. | |
Voćin massacre | 13 December 1991 | Voćin | 43 | 43 Croat civilians massacred by White Eagles paramilitaries during Operation Papuk-91.[54] | |
Bokane massacre | 13 December 1991 | Bokane, Krašković, Miokovićevo and Zvečevo | 20 | On the same day of the Voćin massacre, the same White Eagles paramilitaries killed another 20 Croat civilians during their retreat through neighbouring villages south of Voćin. | |
Voćin killings | 13-16 December 1991 | Voćin | 24-40 | After the withdrawal of Serb forces from Voćin and arrival of the Croatian Army, dozens of Serbs are killed over several days.[55] [56] | |
Joševica massacre | 16 December 1991 | Joševica | 21 | Serb paramilitaries killed 21 Croatian civilians killed reportedly in retaliation for Serb losses sustained in Operation Whirlwind.[57] | |
Mašićka Šagovina killings | 18-19 December 1991 | Mašićka Šagovina, near Okučani | 55 | 55 Serb civilians and POWs killed by ZNG forces.[58] | |
Lađevac killings | 21 December 1991-June 1993 | Donji Lađevac and Gornji Lađevac | 20 | Series of abuses and killings of Croat civilians, who remained in the Donji and Gornji Lađevac villages, by SAO Krajina paramilitaries.[59] | |
Bruška massacre | 21 December 1991 | Bruška | 10 | 10 Croatian civilians killed by Republic of Serbian Krajina forces.[60] | |
Erdut killings | 10 November 1991 – 3 June 1992 | Erdut | 37 | A series of killings of 37 Croat and Hungarian civilians by local SAO forces and Serb Volunteer Guard paramilitaries.[61] | |
Sotin massacre | 26 December 1991 | Sotin | 64 | 32 Croat civilians massacred by Croatian Serb militia and Territorial Defense. A further thirty-two civilians are declared missing and are presumed to have been killed by Serb forces later into the occupation.[62] [63] | |
Šašići massacre | 18 January 1992 | Šašići, near Ervenik | 4 | Murder of 4 Croat members of the Čengić family by Serb paramilitaries.[64] | |
Banski Kovačevac massacre | 20 March 1992 | Banski Kovačevac, near Karlovac | 15 | Croat civilians killed by Serb paramilitaries.[65] | |
Slavonski Brod attack | 3 May 1992 | Slavonski Brod | 16 killed, 60 wounded | Indiscriminate air attack by the Army of Republika Srpska across areas of Slavonski Brod killed 16 Croat civilians (including 6 children) and wounded 60 others.[66] | |
Grabovac massacre | 4 May 1992 | Grabovac | 5 | Serbia's Red Berets special forces abducted and killed three men and two women. They were initially buried in Tikveš, before the bodies were moved to conceal the killings.[67] [68] | |
Slavonski Brod refugee camp shelling | 15 July 1992 | Slavonski Brod | 12 killed, 31 wounded | 12 Bosniak refugees killed and 31 wounded after their accommodation at a stadium in Slavonski Brod was shelled by the Army of the Republika Srpska.[69] | |
Puljane massacre | 2 February 1993 | Puljane, near Promina | 8 | Eight elderly Croat civilians killed by Serb forces, allegedly in retaliation for the HV offensive Operation Maslenica.[70] | |
Medviđa massacre | 9 February 1993 | Medviđa, near Benkovac | 18 | Eighteen Croat civilians killed by Serb forces, allegedly in retaliation for the HV offensive Operation Maslenica.[71] | |
Soline rocket attack | 14 June 1993 | Biograd na Moru | 5 killed, 7 wounded | Republic of Serbian Krajina forces fired M-87 Orkan cluster rockets at the Soline beach in Biograd na Moru, killing 5 and wounding 7 civilians.[72] | |
Operation Medak Pocket | 9-17 September 1993 | near Gospić | 36 (ICTY estimate) | Serb civilians and POWs killed by Croat forces during and after Operation Medak Pocket. | |
Karlovac attack | 10 September 1993 | Karlovac | 7 killed, 23 wounded | Republic of Serbian Krajina forces shelled Karlovac, in retaliation for the Croatian Army launching the start of Operation Medak Pocket, killing 7 and wounding 23 civilians.[73] | |
Batinjska Rijeka massacre | 11 May 1994 | Batinjska Rijeka, near Daruvar | 5 | Five Croat civilians abducted and killed by Serb forces.[74] | |
Medari massacre | 1 May 1995 | Medari, near Okučani | 22 | HV forces killed 22 Serb civilians during Operation Flash. | |
Zagreb rocket attacks | 2-3 May 1995 | Zagreb | 7 killed, 214 wounded | Republic of Serbian Krajina forces used multiple rocket launchers, fitted with cluster munitions, to strike civilian-populated areas of Zagreb on the 2 and 3 May 1995, in retaliation for the HV offensive Operation Flash. Part of the ICTY conviction of Milan Martić and Momčilo Perišić[75] | |
Zaton attack | 3 August 1995 | Zaton, near Dubrovnik | 3 killed, 3 wounded | On the eve of Operation Storm, Army of Republika Srpska forces shelled a public bathing area in the village of Zaton, near Dubrovnik, killing 3 and wounding another 3 Croat civilians.[76] | |
Gospić attack | 4 August 1995 | Gospić | 3 | In retaliation for the Croatian Army launching the start of Operation Storm, Republic of Serbian Krajina forces of the 105th Aviation Brigade launched an air attack on Gospić, killing 3 civilians and wounding several others.[77] | |
Golubić massacre | August 1995 | Golubić | 18 | 18 Serb civilians killed by Croat forces during and after Operation Storm. | |
Donji Lapac killings | August 1995 | Donji Lapac | 20 | 20 Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces after Operation Storm. Part of the ICTY indictment of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač.[78] | |
Biskupija massacre | August 1995 | Biskupija, near Knin | 15 | 15 Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces in the aftermath of Operation Storm. | |
Kijani killings | August–September 1995 | Kijani, Croatia | 14 | 14 elderly Serb civilians executed by Croat forces in the aftermath of Operation Storm.[79] | |
Sarena Jezera killings | 5 August 1995 | Sarena Jezera, near Knin | 6 | 6 Serb civilians executed by Croat forces during Operation Storm.[80] | |
Mokro Polje killings | 6 August 1995 | Mokro Polje, near Knin | 5 | At least 5 Serb civilians executed by Croat forces during Operation Storm. | |
Uzdolje massacre | 6 August 1995 | Uzdolje, near Knin | 10 | 10 Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces during Operation Storm.[81] | |
Glina refugee column massacre | 7-8 August 1995 | Main road between Glina and Dvor | 16 | Serb civilians in a refugee column killed after being ambushed by HV and ARBiH (5th Corps) forces during Operation Storm. | |
Dvor massacre | 8 August 1995 | Dvor | 9 | 8 Croatian Serbs and 1 Croat civilian massacred in the aftermath of Operation Storm. At the time of the massacre, both Croatian and Serbian forces were in the vicinity of Dvor, but neither side has admitted to the killings. According to Jorgen Kold, his U.N peacekeeping unit observed at least three Croatian soldiers with baseball caps and backpacks, near the camp on the morning of the massacre and "either they're covering it up, or someone doesn't want to remember". Kold defended his unit's failure to act by saying that they were instructed not to leave the camp or interfere. | |
Komić killings | 12 August 1995 | Komić, Croatia | 9 | 9 elderly Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces in the aftermath of Operation Storm.[82] | |
Grubori massacre | 25 August 1995 | Grubori, near Knin | 6 | 6 Serb civilians massacred by the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit in the aftermath of Operation Storm.[83] | |
Kistanje massacre | 10-27 August 1995 | Kistanje, near Knin | 13 | 13 elderly Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces in the aftermath of Operation Storm, throughout August 1995. | |
Gošić massacre | 27 August 1995 | Gošić, Šibenik-Knin County | 8 | 8 elderly Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces in the aftermath of Operation Storm.[84] | |
Varivode massacre | 28 September 1995 | Varivode | 9 | 9 elderly Serb civilians massacred by Croat forces in the village of Varivode, although the war was over.[85] |