Operation Medak Pocket/Archive 3

Operation Medak Pocket/Archive 3

Operation Medak Pocket (Croatian: Medački džep, Serbian: Медачки џеп) was a military operation undertaken by the Croatian Army between 9 – 17 September 1993, in which a salient reaching the south suburbs of Gospić, in the south-central Lika region of Croatia, then under the control of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, was attacked by Croatian forces. The pocket was named after the village of Medak.

The Croatian offensive temporarily succeeded in expelling rebel Serb forces from the pocket after several days of fighting. However, the operation ended in controversy after a skirmish with United Nations peacekeepers and accusations of serious Croatian war crimes against local Serb civilians. Although the outcome of the battle was a tactical victory for the Croatians, it became a serious political liability for the Croatian government and international political pressure forced a withdrawal to the previous ceasefire lines.

According to some Canadian sources, UNPROFOR personnel and Croatian troops exchanged heavy fire. In Canada, at the time, the battle was considered to be one of the most severe battles fought by the Canadian Forces since the Korean War, while others, including the Government of Canada, downplay the incident. Croatian sources and a Danish UNPROFOR officer holding a command post in the area at the time describe it as merely a brief, accidental exchange of fire resulting in few casualties.