Dalj massacre
Encyclopedia
Dalj killings and Dalj massacre refer to the events beginning on 1 August 1991 which resulted in the murder of 11 Croatia
n civilians and 28 Croatian policemen in the village of Dalj
, eastern Slavonia
at the hand of Serbia
n paramilitaries, during the Croatian War of Independence
.
, Dalj
and Aljmaš
.
In August 1991, Serb forces led by notorious war criminal Arkan arrested Croat civilians who stayed in their homes and kept them in a detention facility in the police building in Dalj. Eleven of them were shot immediately and their bodies were buried in a mass grave in the village of Ćelija (near Trpinja
). Other victims were buried in Daljski Atar.
On 1 August 1991, Serb paramilitaries with some Serb officials entered the detention facility in the police building in Dalj and shot 28 regional Croat police officers. The bodies of the police officers were then taken from the building and dumped into the nearby Danube
River.
in November 1991, Dalj was also used as one of the detention facilities for prisoners from Vukovar, where some of them were abused and at least 35 of them were executed.
At least 135 other Croat and non-Serb civilians were killed in this region up until May 1992, which makes it the second largest massacre
carried out against Croats, after the Vukovar massacre
.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n civilians and 28 Croatian policemen in the village of Dalj
Dalj
Dalj is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is connected with the D519 highway and administratively located in the municipality of Erdut, Osijek-Baranja County.-References:...
, eastern Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
at the hand of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n paramilitaries, during the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
.
August killings
At the early stage of fighting thousands of Croat and other non-Serb civilians fled from villages of ErdutErdut
Erdut is a village and a municipality in eastern Croatia. It is located in the Osijek-Baranja County, eastern Slavonia, 37 km east of Osijek. The elevation of the village of Erdut is 158 m...
, Dalj
Dalj
Dalj is a village on the Danube in eastern Croatia, near the confluence of the Drava and Danube, on the border with Serbia. It is connected with the D519 highway and administratively located in the municipality of Erdut, Osijek-Baranja County.-References:...
and Aljmaš
Aljmaš
Aljmaš can refer to:* Aljmaš, Croatia, a village near Erdut, Croatia* Aljmaš or Bácsalmás, a village in Hungary* Aljmaš or Almaš, a former village in Bačka, Vojvodina, Serbia...
.
In August 1991, Serb forces led by notorious war criminal Arkan arrested Croat civilians who stayed in their homes and kept them in a detention facility in the police building in Dalj. Eleven of them were shot immediately and their bodies were buried in a mass grave in the village of Ćelija (near Trpinja
Trpinja
Trpinja is a village and municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. There are 1,537 inhabitants in village Trpinja and 5,680 inhabitants in the municipality according to the 2011 census. The majority of the population are Serbs, making up 89.29% of the population according to...
). Other victims were buried in Daljski Atar.
On 1 August 1991, Serb paramilitaries with some Serb officials entered the detention facility in the police building in Dalj and shot 28 regional Croat police officers. The bodies of the police officers were then taken from the building and dumped into the nearby Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
River.
Aftermath
Following the end of the Battle of VukovarBattle of Vukovar
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army , supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats,...
in November 1991, Dalj was also used as one of the detention facilities for prisoners from Vukovar, where some of them were abused and at least 35 of them were executed.
At least 135 other Croat and non-Serb civilians were killed in this region up until May 1992, which makes it the second largest massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
carried out against Croats, after the Vukovar massacre
Vukovar massacre
The Vukovar massacre, also known as Vukovar hospital massacre or simply Ovčara, was a war crime that took place between November 20 and November 21, 1991 near the city of Vukovar, a mixed Croat/Serb community in northeastern Croatia...
.
War crimes charges by the ICTY
- Slobodan MiloševićSlobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
- president of SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) for ordering murder, deportationDeportationDeportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
s and torture of non-Serbs in Dalj through paramilitary soldiers. He died before a verdict was reached. - Jovica StanišićJovica StanišicJovica Stanišić is a former head of the State Security Service now BIA within the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. He is facing trial at the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for his role in the wars in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and Franko SimatovićFranko SimatovicFranko "Frenki" Simatović was the head of the Serbian secret police of Slobodan Milošević, the Special Forces of State Security of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was the founder of the "Special Operations Unit"....
- Stanišić, Head or Chief of the State Security ServiceState Security ServiceState Security Service is the primary domestic intelligence agency of Nigeria. It is primarily responsible for the gathering of intelligence within the country and for the protection of senior government officials, particularly the President and state governors. It is one of three successor...
of the Ministry of Internal AffairsMinistry of Internal Affairs (Serbia)The Ministry of Internal Affairs is a governmental agency responsible for local and national law enforcement services in Serbia. It has numerous municipal and district branches throughout the country...
of the Republic of Serbia, and Simatović, commander of the Special Operations Unit of the same agency, were both charged for persecutionPersecutionPersecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
s, deportations and murder of at least 62 people as a crime against humanityCrime against humanityCrimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
in Dalj. According to the prosecution, the Red Berets were commanded by Simatović, while ‘Arkan’s men’ and Scorpions were units also responsible for various crimes. The evidence called by the prosecution alleges that the Serbian State Security Service controlled those units and organized their training. The trial is still pending. - Goran HadžićGoran HadžicGoran Hadžić is a former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina who was in office during the Croatian War of Independence. He is accused of crimes against humanity and of violation of the laws and customs of war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.The court...
- president of the SAO SBWS, charged with unlawful confinement, deportations murder of at least 89 people in Dalj. His trial is pending.