Kijani killings

Kijani Massacre
LocationKijani, Croatia
DateAugust–September 1995
TargetElderly Croatian Serb villagers
Attack type
Mass killing
Deaths14[1]
PerpetratorsCroatian Army (HV)

The Kijani killings refers to the mass murder of elderly Serb civilians from the village of Kijani near the town of Gračac by members of the Croatian Army (HV) during and following Operation Storm.

Background

Main articles: Croatian War of Independence and Operation Storm

By March 1991, tensions between Croats and Serbs escalated into the Croatian War of Independence.[2] Following a referendum on independence that was largely boycotted by Croatian Serbs,[3] the Croatian parliament officially adopted independence on 25 June.[4] The Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK) declared its intention to secede from Croatia and join the Republic of Serbia while the Government of the Republic of Croatia declared it a rebellion.[5] Between August 1991 and February 1992, the RSK initiated an ethnic cleansing campaign to drive out the Croat and non-Serb population from RSK-held territory,[6] eventually expelling as many as 250,000 people according to Human Rights Watch.[7] Croatian forces also engaged in ethnic cleansing against Serbs in Eastern and Western Slavonia and parts of the Krajina on a more limited scale.[8] On 4 August 1995, the Croatian Army (HV) launched Operation Storm to retake the Krajina region which was completed successfully by 7 August.[9] The Operation resulted in the exodus of approximately 200,000 Serbs from Krajina while those Serbs who were unable or unwilling to leave their homes, primarily the elderly, were subjected to various crimes.[10] The ICTY puts the number of Serb civilians killed at 324.[11]

Killings

According to reports, at least 14 Serb civilians were killed in the village of Kijani near the town of Gračac, in the aftermath of Operation Storm. The victims included nine women.[12] The youngest was 50 years old and the oldest was 90.[13] According to testimonies for the International Court of Justice by villagers who managed to hide in a forest, women were raped and at least one victim was beheaded.[13][14]

Trial

In 2014, Rajko Kričković, an ex-soldier was indicted by Croatia for the murder of three of the civilians.[15] He was accused of shooting 73-year-old Mara Sovilj and her 43-year-old son Radomir, and killing his 45-year-old sister Mira by burning her alive in their house.[16] In 2019, Kričković was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Rijeka County Court in Croatia.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Serbian prosecution to activate Operation Storm cases". B92.net. 21 November 2012.
  2. ^ Lucien, Ellington (2005). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 437. ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6.
  3. ^ Chuck Sudetic (20 May 1991). "Croatia Votes for Sovereignty and Confederation". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Raič, David (2002). Statehood and the Law of Self-Determination. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 350. ISBN 978-9-04111-890-5.
  5. ^ Sudetic, Chuck (2 April 1991). "Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Bartrop, Paul R. (2012). A Biographical Encyclopedia of Contemporary Genocide: Portraits of Evil and Good. ABC-CLIO. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-31338-679-4.
  7. ^ "Milosevic: Important New Charges on Croatia". Human Rights Watch. 21 October 2001. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010.
  8. ^ Bassiouni, Mahmoud Cherif; Manikas, Peter (1996). The Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Transnational Publishers. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-57105-004-5.
  9. ^ Blank, Laurie R.; Noone, Gregory P. (2018). International Law and Armed Conflict: Fundamental Principles and Contemporary Challenges in the Law of War. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. p. 517. ISBN 978-1-54380-122-4.
  10. ^ Clark, Janine Natalya (2014). International Trials and Reconciliation: Assessing the Impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-31797-474-1.
  11. ^ Razsa, Maple (2015). Bastards of Utopia: Living Radical Politics after Socialism. Indiana University Press. pp. 239–240. ISBN 978-0-25301-588-4.
  12. ^ "Press release on non-prosecuted crimes committed during and immediately after the military operation "Storm"". Documenta. Centre for Dealing with the Past.
  13. ^ a b Vujičić, Dragan (16 March 2014). "Mile Sovilj: Ubili 14 starih i nikome ništa". Novosti.
  14. ^ International Court of Justice; Witness statement
  15. ^ Milekic, Sven (26 November 2014). "Croatia Indicts Soldier for Operation Storm Killings". BalkanInsight. BIRN.
  16. ^ Milekic, Sven (11 January 2017). "Croatia Tries Soldier for Operation Storm Killings". BalkanInsight. BIRN.
  17. ^ Barisic, Ivana (15 March 2019). "Rajko Kričković osuđen na 10 godina zatvora zbog ratnog zločina nad srpskim civilima 1995". tportal.hr (in Croatian). HINA.