The Fall of the Western Krajina Municipalities

Following "Operation Storm" and the expulsion of the Serbian population from the RSK in August 1995, and during the NATO bombing of Republika Srpska in September 1995, its army in the western part of the battlefield found itself in a very difficult situation. In these moments, the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) was in a strategic defensive position, followed by synchronized attacks by the Croat-Muslim coalition. The enemy's goal was to rely on the consequences of the NATO intervention to penetrate deep into the territory of Republika Srpska and threaten Banja Luka.

Attacks by Croatian Forces on Republika Srpska

From September 8 to 15, 1995, Croatian Army (HV) forces, composed of its guards and other brigades, in coordination with the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and in a strategic alliance with Muslim forces, carried out attacks along the following axes: Glamoč–Šipovo–Jajce, Glamoč–Mliništa–Mrkonjić Grad, and Grahovo–Drvar–Petrovac. This operation, which represented a continuation of open aggression against Republika Srpska, was code-named "Maestral." It effectively established an area cleared of the centuries-old majority Serbian ethnic population within the borders of the former Bosnia and Herzegovina toward Croatia.

Joint Attacks by Muslim Forces

Despite the favorable operational position gained by the fall of the RSK and the lifting of the siege of Bihać, it took about a month for the forces of the Muslim 5th Corps from Bihać to break through the VRS defense lines, at the moment when Croatian forces were on the verge of capturing Drvar. Using the success of the Croatian operation "Maestral," the now-unblocked Muslim forces launched a sharp offensive on September 13, called "Operation Sana 95", toward Serbian territories. On the other hand, Muslim forces of the 7th Corps advanced from central Bosnia, capturing Donji Vakuf on September 13, which was then called Srbobran. Additionally, Muslim forces took the initiative in the areas around Vlašić, but also further east, around Vozuća and Mount Ozren.

Loss of Territories and Expulsion of the Population

In the meantime, Croatian forces captured Drvar and Šipovo on September 12. Over the next two days, Croatian forces took Jajce, while Muslim forces took Petrovac. Muslim forces entered Petrovac on the night of September 14–15, and the following day they wedged deep into Serbian territory as far as Ključ, which was captured before midnight, while Krupa fell to the north on September 17. The advance of the main forces of the 5th Corps of the so-called Army of BiH was halted by VRS forces between September 19 and 23, and from September 23, attacks toward Prijedor, Novi Grad, and Mrkonjić Grad were also stopped.

A new wave of about 70,000 Serbian refugees flowed toward Banja Luka. The Croat-Muslim coalition was preparing for new attacks toward Banja Luka, Prijedor, Sanski Most, and Novi Grad, while the VRS was establishing an active defense of the attacked territories and planning a counterattack.

Attempted VRS Counterattack

With "Operation Shield 95" (Štit 95), VRS forces in the western part of the battlefield, according to Directive No. 9 issued on September 28, 1995, planned to attack with their main forces along the axes from Mrkonjić Grad toward Ključ and Glamoč, and from the direction of Sanski Most toward Petrovac and Drvar (i.e., further toward Grahovo and Glamoč). The attack began on that same day, September 28, and in the sector against Muslim forces, it had a more realistic basis for pushing them back toward Bihać, especially considering the defeats inflicted on them a year earlier in those areas. Over the next few days, between October 1 and 6, VRS forces inflicted losses on the Muslim forces and reached the outskirts of Ključ, which at one point was again on the verge of liberation. At that time, through extreme effort and the regrouping of their units, Muslim forces stabilized the situation and kept Ključ in their possession.

Republika Srpska gained a significantly longer defense line after the fall of the RSK and was weakened by NATO attacks and the loss of a large part of its territory in August and September 1995—having lost Grahovo, Glamoč, Drvar, Petrovac, Krupa na Uni, Ključ, Jajce, Šipovo, and Srbobran. However, after offering significant resistance and winning a victory in the northwest in the areas of Kozarska Dubica, Kostajnica, and Novi Grad, the VRS counteroffensive actions in late September and early October 1995 against Croatian forces were unsuccessful. From those days in early October, negotiations for a ceasefire began. The directions toward Mrkonjić Grad and Sanski Most remained threatened by the attackers.

Crimes

During these events, in addition to evident ethnic cleansing and the expulsion of the Serbian population, looting, and arson, as well as other forms of property destruction, a large number of murders, executions, and other war crimes were committed against the Serbian civilian population, refugees, and soldiers.

Bravnice – Attack on a Refugee Bus

On September 13, 1995, soldiers of the 2nd HVO Brigade and the 4th HV Guards Brigade, along with other units, committed several crimes in the village of Bravnice, near Jajce. They intercepted a column of Serbian refugees from Donji Vakuf, Jajce, and Travnik and, among other things, attacked a bus filled with passengers and other vehicles in the column. The column, which had no intention other than to leave the threatened territory, was fired upon from close range with all available weapons.

According to data from the Republic Center for Research on War, War Crimes, and Search for Missing Persons, 62 individuals died or were last seen at that location in the Bravnice area that day; 14 of them are still listed as missing today. These 14 were in the aforementioned bus.

"Carevo polje" Mass Grave

Three years later, the remains of 81 people of Serbian nationality who were killed during those days in Jajce and its surroundings, were exhumed from the "Carevo polje" mass grave. Among them were victims from Bravnice. The character of the crimes is further illustrated by the data on children, among whom the youngest was Dragan Janković, who was not even three years old, Borislav Janković (six), and Velibor Janković (thirteen). The bodies of then-four-year-old Aleksandar and six-year-old Vesna Petrić, as well as Danijela Janković (sixteen), are still being sought; they are listed as missing people from that area. In the Jajce municipality, eight individual and three mass graves were found, from which a total of 100 bodies were exhumed.

Prevalence of Crimes and Post-War Exhumations

The prevalence of crimes during the events of the summer and autumn of 1995 and the attacks on Republika Srpska is also evidenced by data from post-war exhumations. In the Glamoč municipality, where 11 individual and two mass graves with a total of 127 bodies were found, the "Kamen" mass grave was exhumed, containing 108 bodies of murdered Serbs. In the Livno municipality, which is organically linked to the events in Bosanska Krajina (a total of nine mass and five individual graves with 111 bodies found), several exhumations were carried out in the Zastinje pit in the post-war period, in which the remains of 22 Serbs were found.

In the Grahovo municipality, a total of 33 Serbs were exhumed from 13 individual and four mass graves. In Šipovo, a total of seven bodies were exhumed. In the Drvar municipality, the remains of 42 bodies were found in individual graves and during terrain sanitation. In the Bosanski Petrovac municipality, a total of 149 bodies of murdered people were exhumed from 10 mass and 66 individual graves related to the events of 1995. In Krupa na Uni, 77 bodies were exhumed from four mass and 50 individual graves, while in Ključ, 72 bodies were exhumed from one mass and a number of individual graves. In these cases alone, 718 people were killed or died, later found in 248 graves and sanitation sites, of which 215 were individual and 33 were mass graves.

Unfortunately, the list of crimes is even larger than those mentioned, as the fates of missing people whose bodies are still being sought have never been fully clarified, and because the suffering of Serbs in 1995 continued in October 1995 in the areas of Mrkonjić Grad, Sanski Most, and other places.