The Battle of Žepče (Bosnian and Croatian: Bitka za Žepče) took place between the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in Žepče, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 24 to 30 June 1993. It was also one of the cases where Serbian and Croatian forces had cooperation between each other against the Bosniak forces.[2]
| Battle of Žepče | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Croat-Bosniak war | |||||||||
 Battle map | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia Republika Srpska |
 Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Ivo Lozančić[3] Slavko Lisica[2] |
Galib Dervišević  (POW) Refik Lendo | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Army of Republika Srpska[1][6][3] |
 Bosnian mujahideen | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
: 7,000 soldiers (2,000 in Žepče only)[4]: At least 7 tanks[6] |
: 12,500 soldiers[7] : Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
52 killed Unknown |
120 killed 5,000 captured Many Bosniaks executed[8] | ||||||||
|
9,000 displaced [6] 427 are deported to Žepče camp[9] 160 are killed in camps[10] | |||||||||
Prelude
editWar broke out between Herzeg-Bosnia, supported by Croatia, and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, supported by the Bosnian Mujahideen[11] and the Croatian Defence Forces. It lasted from 18 October 1992 to 23 February 1994,[12] and is considered often as a "war within a war" as it was a part of the much larger Bosnian War. Fighting soon spread to Central Bosnia and soon Herzegovina, where most of the fighting would take place in those regions.
Battle
editThe 319th Mountain Brigade which was located in the city found itself surrounded while other brigade of ARBiH took over high ground around city. The Bosnian Serb "Doboj" group proved to be decisive in the battle and managed to overrun Bosnian forces.[2] After six days of fighting for Žepče, on 30 June Galib Dervišević agrees to surrender the 305th and 319th Brigade after which the brigades abolished. By Croat sources, captured Bosniak soldiers numbered to around 5,000.
References
edit- 1 2 Archives, L. A. Times (July 3, 1993). "Victory by Serb-Croat Force Leaves a Major Muslim Stronghold Vulnerable". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 3 4 The Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995. Central Intelligence Agency. 2002. p. 197.
- 1 2 3 Hercegbosna.Org, Portal. "Portal Hercegbosna.Org". www.hercegbosna.org.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "War Crimes > - HERCEG BOSNA :: Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina ::". www.hercegbosna.org.
- ↑ "Pripadnici vojne policije HVO-a idu na sud zbog zločina nad Bošnjacima u logorima kod Žepča". Klix.ba.
- 1 2 3 "Bosnia: An Unholy Alliance". July 11, 1993.
- ↑ Charles R. Shrader, The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia: A Military History, 1992–1994, College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003, p. 144.
- ↑ "Žepče u kandžama HVO-a". republika zapadna bosna.
- ↑ "Ivo Lozančić". republika zapadna bosna.
- ↑ "Žepče - Moja logoraška priča". republika zapadna bosna.
- ↑ "(IT-01-47) HADŽIHASANOVIĆ & KUBURA. The Prosecutor v. Enver Hadžihasanović and Amir Kubura" (PDF).
- ↑ "Bosnian War European history [1992–1995]". Britannica. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.