SUMMARY

Croatian government forces made use of one-sided violence in the context of the armed conflict with the Serbian Republic of Krajina from 1992 to 1995 (see the Government of Croatia - Serbian Republic of Krajina conflict).

The Croatian offensives against territory held by the Serbian Republic of Krajina in eastern and north-eastern Croatia, especially in 1995, led to a massive exodus of Serb civilians fleeing Croatia into the Serb-held parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During and in the wake of this exodus Croatian forces attacked and killed many civilians that had been left behind, mainly elderly and infirm people. Many Serb houses and villages were also burnt, with civilian casualties as a consequence. Looting and forced evictions were also carried out by these troops.

There is some evidence to support the theory that these abuses were sanctioned by the government as a way to ensure that few Serbian refugees would return to the Krajina region. Thus, the Serbian proportion of Krajina’s population in post-conflict Croatia would diminish and ensure less Serbian influence on politics. But the attacks have also been characterized by the Government of Croatia as being acts of vengeance carried out by individual soldiers or criminals to avenge the forced expulsion of ethnic Croats that had been perpetrated by the Croatian Serbs earlier on in the conflict. The violence was also stated by the government to have been related to irregular forces that looted for their own benefit. Reliable evidence as to the character and purpose of the violence is however scarce since a tight lock-down on the retaken territory was put into place by the Croatian authorities at the time of the fighting.

Civilians were mainly killed in summary executions, arson attacks, or artillery and airstrikes on refugees and towns. Nearly all of the violence was concentrated in the area of Krajina in eastern Croatia.

The Government of Croatia first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1993, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in October that year when almost 20 Serb civilians were killed after Croatian troops withdrew from Krajina following an offensive.