Škabrnja massacre
Encyclopedia
Škabrnja massacre was a war crime
committed by Serb Army forces during the Croatian War of Independence
. On November 18, 1991, Serb paramilitaries, supported by the JNA
, captured the village of Škabrnja
(also: Škabrnje) and killed 25 Prisoners of war
and 61 civilians over the next several days.
, Škabrnja (near Zadar
) was inhabited by 1,953 people in 397 households, the vast majority of whom were Croats
. No Serbs
were recorded in the settlement. When the Croatian Serbs rebelled during the Croatian War of Independence, the aim of which was to form the Republic of Serbian Krajina
, Škabrnja found itself surrounded by Serb-inhabited village
s.
Škabrnja remained under Croatian control throughout the Operation Coast-91 that ended in October 1991 when the front was entrenched. At the time the villages were exposed on the front line toward the larger and more numerous Yugoslav People's Army
(JNA) and Serb paramilitary
forces.
On 18 November 1991, Serbian forces fired mortars
on Škabrnja, and soon invaded it with armored vehicles and tanks, destroying one APC
and one tank
. The entire JNA battalion
of thirty motorized units attacked from two directions (one from Zemunik Gornji in the northwest and another from Biljane in the southeast), soon overrunning the defenders.
and massacre
d all prisoners, and then proceeded to the center of Škabrnja where they committed more acts of murder and taking some civilians as prisoners. In that one day, 43 civilians and 15 Croatian soldiers were killed, and numerous houses were destroyed.
Over the next couple of days, the murder count rose to 86, and much of the village was burnt and demolished. One group of 26 civilians was buried in a mass grave
near the center of the village.
indicted Milan Babić
and Milan Martić
for these atrocities, naming 38 civilian victims in Škabrnja (in addition to others in surrounding villages and elsewhere).
At the County Court in Zadar, the State Prosecutor's Office indicted 18 people in August 1994 for 43 civilian deaths. Most of the group was sentenced on November 11, 1995 in absentia
, and the sixteen convictees included: Goran Opačić, Boško Dražić, Zoran Janković, Đuro Kosović, Mirko Drača, Nada Pupovac, Zorana Banić, Vojin Lakić, Petar Radmanović, Milenko Bjelanović, Iso Bjelanović, Špiro Bjelanović, Renato Petrov, Desimir Ivaneža, Miroslav Mlinar, Marinko Pozder.
A female nurse Zorana Banić, named number eight in the original indictment, was incarcerated after she was arrested in Switzerland in 2001 and extradited to Croatia.
Her initial sentence was 10 years in prison, but she was since re-tried twice. In 2003 she was found guilty by the County Court in Zadar and sentenced to 13 years in prison. The Supreme Court of Croatia ordered a re-trial, and in 2004 she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Finally, the Supreme Court sentenced her to six years in prison.
Another female defendent, Edita Rađen, a medical worker who was sentenced in absentia to a sentence of 15 years in prison, appealed based on an alleged alibi
. The County Court in Zadar rejected the appeal, but the Supreme Court accepted it in 2007 and ordered a re-trial.
A third nurse, Nada Pupovac, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1995, but was never incarcerated. Two men have served prison time, Momčilo Drača and Jovan Badžoka.
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
committed by Serb Army forces 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...
. On November 18, 1991, Serb paramilitaries, supported by the JNA
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
, captured the village of Škabrnja
Škabrnja
Škabrnja is a village in northern Dalmatia, Croatia, located halfway between Zadar and Benkovac in the lowland region of Ravni Kotari. Its municipality is called Škabrnje, and it includes Škabrnja with a population of 1,424 as well as the smaller village of Prkos, population 348; 1,772 in total...
(also: Škabrnje) and killed 25 Prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and 61 civilians over the next several days.
Before the massacre
According to the 1991 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Škabrnja (near Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
) was inhabited by 1,953 people in 397 households, the vast majority of whom were Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
. No Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
were recorded in the settlement. When the Croatian Serbs rebelled during the Croatian War of Independence, the aim of which was to form the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
, Škabrnja found itself surrounded by Serb-inhabited village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s.
Škabrnja remained under Croatian control throughout the Operation Coast-91 that ended in October 1991 when the front was entrenched. At the time the villages were exposed on the front line toward the larger and more numerous Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA) and Serb paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
forces.
On 18 November 1991, Serbian forces fired mortars
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
on Škabrnja, and soon invaded it with armored vehicles and tanks, destroying one APC
Armoured personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
and one tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
. The entire JNA battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of thirty motorized units attacked from two directions (one from Zemunik Gornji in the northwest and another from Biljane in the southeast), soon overrunning the defenders.
The massacre
The Serbian paramilitaries entered the hamlet of AmbarAmbar
Ambar may refer to:* Hambar, the Serbo-Croatian and original Turkish form, the name for a Balkan and Central European building for drying maize* A common Indian given name meaning "The Sky" in Hindi...
and 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...
d all prisoners, and then proceeded to the center of Škabrnja where they committed more acts of murder and taking some civilians as prisoners. In that one day, 43 civilians and 15 Croatian soldiers were killed, and numerous houses were destroyed.
Over the next couple of days, the murder count rose to 86, and much of the village was burnt and demolished. One group of 26 civilians was buried in a mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
near the center of the village.
Trials for the massacre
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The 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...
indicted Milan Babić
Milan Babic
Milan Babić was from 1991 to 1995 the first President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a Croatian region at the time of the war largely populated by a Serbs of Croatia that wished to break away from Croatia.He was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former...
and Milan Martić
Milan Martic
Milan Martić is a Serbian politician, former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina...
for these atrocities, naming 38 civilian victims in Škabrnja (in addition to others in surrounding villages and elsewhere).
At the County Court in Zadar, the State Prosecutor's Office indicted 18 people in August 1994 for 43 civilian deaths. Most of the group was sentenced on November 11, 1995 in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
, and the sixteen convictees included: Goran Opačić, Boško Dražić, Zoran Janković, Đuro Kosović, Mirko Drača, Nada Pupovac, Zorana Banić, Vojin Lakić, Petar Radmanović, Milenko Bjelanović, Iso Bjelanović, Špiro Bjelanović, Renato Petrov, Desimir Ivaneža, Miroslav Mlinar, Marinko Pozder.
A female nurse Zorana Banić, named number eight in the original indictment, was incarcerated after she was arrested in Switzerland in 2001 and extradited to Croatia.
Her initial sentence was 10 years in prison, but she was since re-tried twice. In 2003 she was found guilty by the County Court in Zadar and sentenced to 13 years in prison. The Supreme Court of Croatia ordered a re-trial, and in 2004 she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Finally, the Supreme Court sentenced her to six years in prison.
Another female defendent, Edita Rađen, a medical worker who was sentenced in absentia to a sentence of 15 years in prison, appealed based on an alleged alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
. The County Court in Zadar rejected the appeal, but the Supreme Court accepted it in 2007 and ordered a re-trial.
A third nurse, Nada Pupovac, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1995, but was never incarcerated. Two men have served prison time, Momčilo Drača and Jovan Badžoka.