Operation Military_operation Stinger ( ; ) was an offensive undertaken by the forces Hostile_encounter of the SAO Krajina , an unrecognized Croatian Serb region opposing Agree_or_refuse_to_act the Republic of Croatia , against positions held by the Croatian police in the region of Banovina on 26–27 July 1991 , during the Croatian War of Independence .

In addition to Glina and Kozibrod , heavy fighting Hostile_encounter took place Process_start in the village of Struga , north of Dvor , where Croatian Serb forces Hostile_encounter employed Employment a human shield consisting Cause_to_be_included of Croat civilians taken Conquering from their homes in Struga and the nearby village of Zamlača .

The Croatian Serb rebels Hostile_encounter captured Conquering the police station in Glina , but were stopped Hindering in Struga before the Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) arrived Arriving there to create Creating a buffer zone and , according to the JNA , assist Assistance the Croatian police to evacuate Escaping .

The fighting Hostile_encounter resulted Causation the bulk of the region being transferred Giving to Croatian Serb and JNA control Control .

In the aftermath of the fighting Hostile_encounter , a number of Croatian Serb troops threatened Warning the regional commander in Dvor , blaming Judgment_communication him for the deaths Death of members of their unit in the fighting Hostile_encounter .

The Glina massacres Killing were killings Killing of Serb peasants in the town of Glina in the Independent State of Croatia ( NDH ) that occurred between May and August 1941 , during World War II .

The first wave of massacres Killing in the town began Process_start on 11 or 12 May 1941 , when a band of Ustaše led by Mirko Puk murdered Killing a group of Serb men and boys in a Serbian Orthodox church before setting Placing it on fire Damaging .

The following day , approximately 100 Serb males were murdered Killing by the Ustaše in the nearby village of Prekopi .

They were perpetrated Committing_crime by the Croatian Serb SAO Krajina police and generally targeted Aiming ethnic Croat civilians in Široka Kula .

In early 1998 , KLA attacks Attack targeting Yugoslav authorities in Kosovo resulted in Causation an increased presence of Serb paramilitaries and regular forces who subsequently began Process_start pursuing a campaign of retribution targeting KLA sympathisers and political opponents ; this campaign killed Killing 1,500 to 2,000 civilians and KLA combatants .

The Yugoslav and Serb forces caused Causation the displacement of between 1.2 million to 1.45 million Kosovo Albanians .

The Bijeljina massacre Killing involved Cause_to_be_included the killing Killing of between 48 and 78 civilians by Serb paramilitary groups in Bijeljina on 1–2 April 1992 during the Bosnian War .

The killing Killing was committed Commitment by a local paramilitary group known as Mirko 's Chetniks and by the Serb Volunteer Guard ( SDG , also known as Arkan 's Tigers ) , a Serbia-based paramilitary group led by Željko Ražnatović ( aka Arkan ) .

In March 1992 , the Bosnian referendum on independence was passed Process_end with overwhelming support Supporting from Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats , although Bosnian Serbs either boycotted Agree_or_refuse_to_act it or were prevented Preventing_or_letting from voting Choosing by Bosnian Serb authorities .

A poorly organized Arranging , local Bosniak Patriotic League paramilitary group had been established Creating in response Response to the Bosnian Serb proclamation .

Around 3 April , Serb forces removed Removing the bodies of those massacred Killing in anticipation of the arrival Arriving of a Bosnian government delegation tasked Motion with investigating Research what had transpired Coming_to_be .

The killings took place Process_start during and in the immediate aftermath of the occupation of the village by the Yugoslav People 's Army ( `` Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija '' – JNA ) supported Supporting by Croatian Serb forces and `` Dušan Silni '' paramilitaries on 10 October , two days after Croatia declared Expressing_publicly independence from Yugoslavia .

After the Croatian Serb forces , the JNA and the paramilitaries established Building their control Control in the village , the Croat population was required Imposing_obligation to wear white armbands and mark Recording their houses using Using white sheets .

Its objective was to create Creating a security buffer between Croatia and positions held Hold by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska ( VRS ) and to put Placing the largest Bosnian Serb-held city , Banja Luka , in jeopardy by capturing Arrest the towns of Jajce , Šipovo and Drvar .

Operation Mistral 2 resulted in Causation the deaths Death of hundreds of Bosnian Serb civilians , as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of others .

In 2011 , five former Croatian military personnel were convicted Legal_rulings of war crimes Committing_crime for the summary execution of five Bosnian Serb soldiers and a civilian during the operation .

In 2016 , Bosnian Serb officials filed Submitting_documents a criminal complaint against the Croatian Minister of Defence Defending , Damir Krstičević , alleging Judgment_communication that he had committed Committing_crime war crimes Committing_crime during the offensive .

When Bosnia and Herzegovina declared Expressing_publicly independence from Yugoslavia after the 1992 Bosnian independence referendum , the Bosnian Serbs—whose strategic goal was to create Creating a new Bosnian Serb state of Republika Srpska ( RS ) that would include Cause_to_be_included Bosniak-majority areas—encircled Sarajevo with a siege force of 13,000 stationed in the surrounding hills .

The ARBiH suffered Bodily_harm 6,137 fatalities , while Bosnian Serb military casualties numbered 2,241 soldiers killed Killing .

After the war , the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) convicted four Serb officials for numerous counts of crimes against humanity committed Commitment during the siege , including terrorism Terrorism .

The Croatian War Military_operation of Independence was fought Hostile_encounter from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared Expressing_publicly independence Change_of_leadership from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( SFRY ) —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) and local Serb forces , with the JNA ending its combat Hostile_encounter operations Military_operation in Croatia by 1992 .

Most Serbs sought Statement a new Serb state within a Yugoslav federation Collaboration , including areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with ethnic Serb majorities or significant minorities , and attempted to conquer Conquering as much of Croatia as possible .

Most Serbs sought Statement a new Serb state within a Yugoslav federation Collaboration , including areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with ethnic Serb majorities or significant minorities , and attempted to conquer Conquering as much of Croatia as possible .

After this failed , Serb forces Causation established Creating the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina ( RSK ) within Croatia .

The Serb and Croatian governments began Process_start to progressively cooperate Collaboration with each other but tensions remain Temporary_stay , in part due to verdicts by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) and lawsuits Legality filed Submitting_documents by each country against the other .

In 2007 , the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) returned Arriving a guilty verdict Legal_rulings against Milan Martić , one of the Serb leaders in Croatia , for having colluded Collaboration with Slobodan Milošević and others to create Creating a `` unified Serbian state '' .

The JNA pulled out GiveUp in 1992 , but transferred Giving much of its equipment to the Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb forces as it withdrew .

The JNA pulled out GiveUp in 1992 , but transferred Giving much of its equipment to the Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb forces as it withdrew .

The secondary objective was threatening the single direct supply route between Drvar in the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and Knin , the capital of the Croatian Serb Republic of Serbian Krajina ( RSK ) .

The secondary objective was threatening the single direct supply route between Drvar in the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska and Knin , the capital of the Croatian Serb Republic of Serbian Krajina ( RSK ) .

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) characterized Statement the attack Attack as a crime against humanity and convicted Legal_rulings Croatian Serb leader Milan Martić of ordering Arranging the attack Attack .

The HV was supported Supporting by the Croatian special police advancing from the Velebit Mountain , and the ARBiH located in the Bihać pocket , in the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina 's ( ARSK ) rear .

The operation built Building on HV and HVO advances made Causation during Operation Summer '95 , when strategic positions allowing the rapid capture of the RSK capital Knin were gained Getting , and on the continued arming and training of the HV since the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence , when the RSK was created Creating during the Serb Log revolution and Yugoslav People 's Army ( JNA ) intervention .

The number of Serb civilian deaths is disputed—Croatia claims Statement that 214 were killed Killing , while Serbian sources cite Adducing 1,192 civilians killed or missing .

During and after the offensive , 150,000–200,000 Serbs—or nearly the entire Serb population of the area formerly held Hold by the ARSK—fled and a variety of crimes were committed Commitment against the remaining civilians there .

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) later tried three Croatian generals charged with war crimes and partaking in a joint Collaboration criminal enterprise designed Creating to force the Serb population out of Croatia , although all three were ultimately acquitted and the tribunal refuted charges of a criminal enterprise .

The ICTY stated Statement that Croatian Army and Special Police committed Commitment a large number of crimes against the Serb population after the artillery assault , but the state and military leadership is not responsible for their creation and organizing .

Human Rights Watch reported Reporting that the vast majority of the abuses during operation were committed Commitment by Croatian forces and that the abuses continued on a large scale for months afterward , which included Cause_to_be_included executions of civilians and destruction of Serb property .

In 2015 , the court ruled Legal_rulings that it was not genocidal , and it affirmed Response that the Serb population fled Escaping as a direct result of the offensive , although ruling that Croatia did not have the specific intent to displace the country 's Serb minority , nor was it found Know that ethnic cleansing or civilian targeting took place Process_start .

In 2015 , the court ruled Legal_rulings that it was not genocidal , and it affirmed Response that the Serb population fled Escaping as a direct result of the offensive , although ruling that Croatia did not have the specific intent to displace the country 's Serb minority , nor was it found Know that ethnic cleansing or civilian targeting took place Process_start .

As a result , the JNA began Process_start to lose Earnings_and_losses Slovenes , Croats , Kosovar Albanians , Bosniaks , and ethnic Macedonians , and effectively became Becoming a Serb army .

According to a 1994 United Nations report Reporting , the Serb side did not aim Aiming to restore Recovering Yugoslavia , but to create Creating a `` Greater Serbia '' from parts of Croatia and Bosnia .

The JNA units subordinated Forming_relationships to the 12th ( Novi Sad ) Corps , supported Supporting by the Serb Volunteer Guard , achieved Achieve modest advances Cause_to_make_progress in late November and early December , capturing Conquering several villages south of Osijek , but the Croatian Army maintained Preserving its defensive Defending front and limited Limiting the JNA 's advances Cause_to_make_progress .

The offensives Attack were accompanied by the displacement of most of the Croatian Serb population of the area captured Conquering by the HV .

As a result , differentiating between the rank and file of the two groups was difficult , as even the communist-led insurgent groups consisted Cause_to_be_included mainly of Serb peasants who had little understanding of the political aims of their leaders .