Ten-Day War - Holmec Incident

Holmec Incident

The border station at Holmec was the location of an alleged war crime perpetrated by Slovenian TO forces, filmed by the Austrian public broadcasting station ORF. Video footage shows a small group of YPA soldiers standing or walking slowly with raised hands, holding up a white sheet in an apparent attempt to surrender. Moments later, gunfire is heard and the soldiers fall or jump to the ground. Neither the origin of the gunfire nor its exact effect are clearly visible on the video segment. Slovene officials maintain that the YPA soldiers jumped for cover and were not hit, and that the matter was thoroughly investigated years ago. However, the incident sparked renewed public debate after the footage was shown on Serbian TV station B92 in 2006, with many claiming that the soldiers were shot and killed by Slovenian TO troops and that Slovenia is trying to cover up the affair.

The fate of the YPA soldiers identified on the footage is disputed. One report claims that the soldiers are still alive, 15 years after the conflict. Other report identify three young soldiers as victims (Zoran Ješić, Goran Maletić and Antonio Šimunović) and claim that they were killed in the Holmec incident.