Uzdolje killings

The Uzdolje massacre was the mass murder of Croatian Serb civilians from the village of Uzdolje, near Knin on 6 August 1995 by members of the Croatian Army (HV) in the aftermath of Operation Storm. The killings in the village were included in the ICTY's indictment of former Croatian general Ante Gotovina.[2] In the appeal of the trial of Gotovina et al which acquitted Gotovina and Mladen Markač, the ICTY ruled that there was insufficient evidence to conclude the existence of a joint criminal enterprise to remove Serb civilians by force.[3] The Appeals Chamber further stated that the Croatian Army and Special Police committed crimes after the artillery assault, but the state and military leadership had no role in their planning and creation.[3]

Uzdolje massacre
LocationUzdolje, Knin, Croatia
Date6 August 1995
TargetElderly Croatian Serb villagers
Attack type
Mass killing
Deaths10[1]
PerpetratorsCroatian Army (HV)

Killings

On the morning of 6 August 1995, three men with automatic rifles drove to the hamlet of Šare and into the village of Uzdolje, finding eight people, the oldest of whom was Djudjija Beric, 79 years old.[4] Seven of them were killed near the Knin - Drniš road, while the surviving witness, who was injured, managed to escape into the forest.[4] The other victims were Milica Sare, Stevo Beric, Janja Beric, Krsto Sare, Milos Cosic, Jandrija Sara and 73-year-old Sava Sare, who was killed on her porch afterwards.[1]

In the nearby hamlet of Vrbnik, unknown Croatian soldiers also killed 61- or 62-year-old Lazo Damjanic and 28-year-old Predrag Zaric.[1] Days after Operation Storm, ten other civilians were also killed in surrounding villages.[4]

Though no one has been held responsible for these crimes, the Zagreb-based NGO Documenta - Center for Dealing with the Past filed a criminal complaint to the Croatian state attorney’s office in 2017.[1]

References
  1. Milekic, Sven (4 August 2017). "Croatia's Operation Storm: Crimes Unpunished 22 Years On". BalkanInsight. BIRN.
  2. "Gotovina - Indictment". ICTY.org. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 21 May 2001.
  3. "Gotovina and Markac, IT-06-90-A" (PDF). ICTY.org. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 16 November 2012. pp. 30–34.
  4. Bajto, Nikola; Opačić, Tamara; Jovanović, Nenad (15 October 2018). "Dossier: Zločini nad Srbima". Novosti.
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