Operation Summer '95 - Background

Background

In August 1990, a revolution took place in Croatia centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around the city of Knin, as well as in parts of the Lika, Kordun, and Banovina regions, and settlements in eastern Croatia with significant Serb populations. The areas were subsequently named the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) and, after declaring its intention to integrate with Serbia, the Government of Croatia declared the RSK a rebellion. By March 1991, the conflict escalated to war and the Croatian War of Independence broke out. In June 1991, Croatia declared its independence as Yugoslavia disintegrated. A three-month moratorium followed, after which the decision came into effect on 8 October. The RSK then initiated a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Croatian civilians and most non-Serbs were expelled by early 1993. By November 1993, less than 400 ethnic Croats remained in the United Nations (UN) protected area known as Sector South, while a further 1,500 – 2,000 remained in Sector North.

As the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) increasingly supported the RSK and the Croatian Police was unable to cope with the situation, the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) was formed in May 1991. The ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army (HV) in November. The establishment of the military of Croatia was hampered by a UN arms embargo introduced in September. The final months of 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, culminating in the Battle of the barracks, the Siege of Dubrovnik, and the Battle of Vukovar.

In January 1992, the Sarajevo Agreement was signed by representatives of Croatia, the JNA and the UN, and fighting between the two sides was paused. Ending the series of unsuccessful ceasefires, the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed to Croatia to supervise and maintain the agreement. A stalemate developed as the conflict evolved into static trench warfare, and the JNA soon retreated from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a new conflict was anticipated. Serbia continued to support the RSK, but a series of HV advances restored small areas to Croatian control as the siege of Dubrovnik was lifted, and Operation Maslenica resulted in minor tactical gains. In response to the HV successes, the RSK intermittently attacked a number of Croatian towns and villages with artillery and missiles.

As the JNA disengaged in Croatia, its personnel prepared to set up a new Bosnian Serb army, as Bosnian Serbs declared the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 January 1992, ahead of 29 February–1 March 1992 referendum on independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina—which would later be cited as a pretext for the Bosnian War. Bosnian Serbs set up barricades in the capital, Sarajevo and elsewhere on 1 March, and the next day the first fatalities of the war were recorded in Sarajevo and Doboj. In the final days of March, the Bosnian Serb army started shelling Bosanski Brod, and on 4 April, Sarajevo was attacked.

The Bosnian Serb army—renamed the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) after the Republika Srpska state proclaimed in the Bosnian Serb-held territory—was fully integrated with the JNA. As 1992 carried on, it controlled about 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was achieved through a large-scale campaign of territorial conquest and ethnic cleansing which was backed by military and financial support from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Even though the war originally pitted Bosnian Serbs against non-Serbs in the country, it evolved into a three-sided conflict by 1993 when the Croat–Bosniak alliance deteriorated and Croat-Bosniak war broke out between the two. The Bosnian Croats declared a Herzeg-Bosnia state with the intent of eventually joining Croatia. This was incompatible with Bosniaks' aspirations of a unitary state confronted by demands to partition the country. The VRS was involved in the Croatian War of Independence in a limited capacity, through military and other aid to the RSK, occasional air raids launched from Banja Luka, and most significantly through artillery attacks against urban centres, while extent of the territory it controlled did not change significantly until 1994.

Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War happened on a considerably larger scale than in the RSK, as all the major ethnic groups became victims of ethnically motivated violence committed by Bosniaks, Croats or Serbs. The ethnic conflict produced a vast number of displaced persons. It is estimated that the number of refugees in areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina not controlled by the VRS at the end of 1994 exceeded one million, while the total population of the same area was approximately 2.2 million. In addition, 720,000 Bosniaks, 460,000 Serbs and 150,000 Croats fled the country as refugees. A large part of the Bosniak and Croat refugees was hosted by Croatia—by November 1992, there were 333,000 registered, and an estimated 100,000 unregistered, refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Croatia. Circumstances under which the refugees left their homes varied considerably. The Bosnian Serb-committed ethnic violence against civilian population resulted in the greatest number of civilian victims in the Bosnian war, and would culminate in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.