Škabrnja massacre

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Memorial to the victims in Škabrnja

The Škabrnja massacre was a war crime committed by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and local Serb vigilante associations on November 18, 1991 in the town of Škabrnja near Zadar during the Croatian War .

According to the 1991 census, Škabrnja had a population of 1,953 people in 397 households. Mostly Croatians lived in the place . In November 1991, local Serb paramilitaries from the surrounding villages, with military support from units of the Yugoslav People's Army stationed in Knin , began their attacks on villages with Croatian populations as part of the ethnic cleansing . The objective was to create the so-called and internationally not recognized Republic of Serbian Krajina . The town of Škabrnja, about 15 kilometers east-southeast of the city of Zadar , was also among the attacked villages .

On November 18, the attackers broke the villagers' defenses, went from house to house and murdered 25 people who did not want to or could not flee. Between November 18 and February 12 additional Croatian civilians who remained in the village were murdered by Serbian paramilitaries.

A total of 82 Škabrnja residents were killed during the Croatian War.

Litigation

Milan Babić and Milan Martić were convicted of this war crime by the ICTY ( International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ).

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