Rocket fire on Zagreb
The rocket bombardment of Zagreb on May 2 and 3, 1995 was a combat operation carried out by armed units of the Republic of Serbian Krajina during the Croatian War . The units fired surface-to -surface missiles at downtown Zagreb, killing 7 people and injuring 214 others. It was a retaliation for the Croatian military operation Blitz . The Serbian military leader responsible for the mission, Milan Martić , was sentenced in 2007 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to 35 years in prison for crimes against humanity, also for this attack .
introduction
The Croatian capital Zagreb had previously been largely spared from the Croatian war, as the front never moved closer than 25 kilometers to the city.
The Serbian general Milan Čeleketić announced a retaliatory attack on the weak points in Croatia on March 24, 1995 - one month before the actual attack - in the event of a Croatian military offensive. He stressed that these weak points are in the parks of the Croatian cities where civilians are staying.
In May 1995 the Croatian army launched the "Blitz" military operation, during which they conquered Western Slavonia . In response ordered the leader of the Serbian rebels in Croatia, Milan Martić , the cities of Sisak, Karlovac and Zagreb to shoot, then with M-87 - rocket launchers rockets with bomblets - warheads were fired at the cities.
Rocket fire
A meeting of the military leaders of the Republic of Serbian Krajina was held on May 1st . Milan Martić ordered the bombardment of Sisak at 5 a.m. and the transport of the M-87 rocket launchers to Vojnić , just under 50 km south of Zagreb. The first rockets hit Zagreb on May 2nd at 10:25 am. There were many civilians in the streets at that time. There were impacts on Strossmayer Promenade, Petrinjska Street and Vlaška Street, where a tram full of passengers was hit. A school nearby as well as the Pleso district and the airport were also hit.
The second attack occurred the following day at 12:20 p.m. The Children's Hospital on Klaić Street and the National Library were hit. Since the population had been warned of the rocket fire, the streets were deserted, so the death toll was relatively low.
The war crimes tribunal
Milan Martić has been wanted by the Hague War Crimes Tribunal since July 25, 1995 with an international arrest warrant. After he surrendered to the authorities on May 15, 2005, he was charged with seven counts of murder and aggravated assault. Martić himself confessed to the attack a few days after the incident on Serbian television. Martić was sentenced on June 12, 2007 to a total of 35 years in prison.
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- ↑ a b ICTY - Case Information Sheet (English; PDF, 300 kB)
- ↑ Case information sheet of the ICTY, accessed on March 20, 2011 (PDF, 300 kB)
- ^ ICTY report
- ↑ [1]