For 30 years, no one has answered for the 55 Serbs killed by the Croatian National Guards
Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the crimes of Croatian units against Serbs in Mašička Šagovina in Croatia, where at least 55 Serbs were liquidated.
This was reported by the Veritas Documentary and Information Center, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the human rights center, on the night of December 18-19, 1991, members of the 108th and 121st brigades of the National Guard (ZNG) and special forces from the Svileni group, a total of 363 militants, carried out an infantry attack on the Serbian village of Mašička Shagovina near Novsk, on the slopes of Psun.
Croatian National Guardsmen pose for photographs before the raid on Mašička Sagovina
The village was defended by about a hundred Territorial Defense members from this and neighboring Serbian villages and volunteers from Serbia. Croatian National Guardsmen occupied this village during the day, thanks to the fact that the defenders celebrated St. Nicholas with local residents and were not prepared for a night attack.
Then, according to Serbian sources, at least 55 people were killed, including 31 civilians and members of the Territorial Defense from this village, and several dozen of them were subsequently tortured for months in Croatian dungeons.
According to the testimonies of survivors in the camp, the “national guardsmen” set fire to all the houses and killed both civilians and defenders, even after they laid down their arms and surrendered. According to Croatian sources, the operation was planned by Brigadier General Josip Miksic, then commander of the 121st Brigade, and the attack was led by Colonel Ante Šolić, then commander of the volunteer hundred of the 121st Brigade.
Among the killers of civilians and prisoners, surviving local residents identified Zdravko Paritan, Stevan Kulich from Cernicka Shagovina and Ivan Klepic from Nova Gradiška. According to the order of the Croatian army, 28 killed Serbs were buried in Mašička Šagovina, most of them were identified, their bodies were taken and buried by their relatives.
The village was completely looted and burned, with the exception of the Co-operative House, which housed the Croatian army until the arrival of the UN soldiers. According to the 1991 census, 209 people lived in Mašička Šagovina. According to the 2011 census report, there are only seven residents: two men and five women.
In Croatia, this punitive action is revered as “one of the first heroic battles of the Patriotic War.”
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.