Operation Storm - August 1995: The largest ethnic cleansing in Europe after WWII

Operation Storm was a four-day military operation by the Croatian Army against the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in August 1995. The result: one of the largest refugee waves in Europe after the Second World War.

Context - the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK)

What was the RSK?

• A self-proclaimed Serbian republic in Croatia (1991-1995)
• Territory: Western Slavonia, Lika, Banija, Kordun, Dalmatia
• Population: ~300,000 Serbs (mostly civilians)
• Reason for its creation: Fear of a repeat of the NDH (Jasenovac)
• Status: Internationally unrecognised

• 1991: The break-up of Yugoslavia, war in Croatia
• 1992: Ceasefire (Sarajevo Agreement) - RSK under UN protection
• 1992-1995: A zone under UN protection (UNPA - UN Protected Areas)
• 15,000 UN soldiers (UNPROFOR) protected the zone

Preparation of Storm - Croatia was not alone

American support

MPRI (Military Professional Resources Inc.):

• An American private military company
• Retired American generals
• Trained the Croatian Army 1994-1995
• The operation plan - American military doctrine

• The US provided satellite images of RSK positions
• Communications interception
• Coordination of the attack

• The US blocked the UN Security Council - it did not condemn the attack
• Ambassador Richard Holbrooke - support for Tuđman

Military superiority

The Croatian Army (HV):

• 200,000 soldiers (the best trained and armed in the region)
• Tanks, artillery, aircraft
• American training

• 30,000 soldiers (mostly old men and reservists)
• Outdated weaponry
• Poor training
• No support - Serbia did not help (UN embargo)

Operation Storm - Chronology

4 August 1995 (Friday) - Day 1

05:00 - Start of the attack:

• Artillery: Massive shelling of Serbian towns
• Aviation: Bombing of civilian targets
• Ground forces: Attack from all sides

• Knin (the capital of the RSK) - intense shelling
• Benkovac
• Obrovac
• Gračac
• Donji Lapac

• Conventional shells
• Cluster bombs (prohibited by international law - they target civilians)
• Orkan rockets - an indiscriminate weapon

5 August - Day 2

The fall of Knin:

• The Croatian Army enters Knin
• The RSK army withdraws (defence impossible)
• The civilian population FLEES EN MASSE

• Tens of thousands of civilians set off towards Bosnia (Banja Luka)
• Tractors, buses, cars, on foot
• Chaotic flight - fear of a massacre

• Memory of Jasenovac (1941-1945)
• Fear of revenge
• The RSK authorities called for an evacuation (or did they force it?)
• The Croatian Army did not guarantee safety

6-7 August - Days 3-4

The Croatian Army takes the entire territory of the RSK:

• Benkovac, Obrovac, Gračac, Donji Lapac - fallen
• The SVK withdrew completely into Bosnia
• Mass flight of civilians

• First wave (4-7 August): ~150,000 Serbs fled
• Second wave (the following weeks): another 50,000 Serbs expelled/fled
• TOTAL: 200,000-250,000 people

8 August - End of the military operation

The military part completed:

• The RSK ceased to exist
• Croatia took 10,500 km² of territory
• 200,000+ Serbs expelled

• The Croatian Army and police begin "cleansing the terrain"
• Killing of the remaining civilians (old people who could not flee)
• Burning of Serbian houses
• Looting of property

Violence after Storm - "The systematic destruction of Serb life"

August-September 1995

ICTY finding: "There was a systematic pattern of killing, house-burning and looting. This was not sporadic violence, but an organised campaign." Methods:

• Killings: The remaining civilians (mostly old people) killed
• Executions: Prisoners shot without trial
• Burning of houses: Systematic - house by house
• Looting: Livestock, equipment, cars - everything carried off
• Mining: Fields, wells, houses mined

Documented killings - examples

Varivode (28 September 1995):

• A village near Knin
• 9 old people killed (61-85 years old)
• The Croatian military police entered the village
• They called on the Serbs to surrender - they guaranteed safety
• Then they SHOT them
• The bodies were burned to destroy the evidence

• Jovan Berić (85 years old)
• Dmitar Berić (62 years old)
• Ilija Berić (70 years old)
• Sava Berić (62 years old)
• Petar Damjanović (76 years old)
• Sava Milić (67 years old)
• Jovan Rašeta (72 years old)
• Đuro Sarap (61 years old)
• Nikola Vujnović (64 years old)

Statistics of the violence

UN reports (1995-1996):

• Killings: 1,500-2,500 civilians (estimate - many bodies were never found)
• Missing: 2,500+ (International Red Cross list)
• Burned houses: 22,000 (documented by satellite images)
• Churches destroyed: 280+ Orthodox churches

• 1,191 documented names of those killed (with biographies)
• Of those: 670 civilians, 521 military personnel (many prisoners)
• Oldest victim: 99 years old
• Youngest victim: 3 months old

The UN present - but passive

UNPROFOR - "Protected" Areas?

UN mandate:

• Protection of the civilian population
• Demilitarisation of the zone
• Maintenance of peace

• NOTHING
• 15,000 UN soldiers WATCHED as Croatia attacked
• They did not try to stop the attack
• They did not protect the civilians

• The mandate did not permit "offensive action"
• Fears of a conflict with the Croatian Army
• Political will - the West supported Croatia

If you have 15,000 soldiers and cannot protect the civilians - why are you there? This is the same failure as Srebrenica (a month before Storm).

International reaction - support for Croatia

The US

Richard Holbrooke (American ambassador): "Storm changed the military situation in the Balkans. It was a positive development." US politics:

• Blocked condemnation in the UN Security Council
• Ignored reports of crimes
• Continued support for Croatia

The EU

• Moderate criticism
• But no sanctions were imposed
• Croatia later became a member of the EU (2013)

Russia and Serbia

• Condemned Storm
• Called for an investigation
• Blocked at the UN by the US

The Hague Tribunal (ICTY) - Justice?

The accused

Ante Gotovina - general, commander of Storm Mladen Markač - commander of the special police Ivan Čermak - commander of the Knin district Charges:

• Crimes against humanity
• Violations of the laws and customs of war
• Deportation
• Persecution
• Looting
• Destruction

The verdict - SCANDAL

2011 - First instance:

• Gotovina and Markač CONVICTED, sentenced to 24 and 18 years
• Čermak acquitted

• ALL THREE ACQUITTED
• Reason: "No evidence of a joint criminal enterprise"

• Croatia: Celebration, Gotovina a national hero
• Serbia: Shock, disappointment
• The victims: Devastated
• Judge Fausto Pocar (dissenting opinion): "The majority erred. The evidence is clear - systematic crimes did take place."

Number of victims - different sources

UN reports:

• 1,500-2,500 dead
• 2,500+ missing

• 1,191 documented names
• But many have still not been found

• Confirms "thousands of victims"
• Systematic violence

• Claims "a few hundred"
• Denies the systematic character
• Claims these were "isolated incidents"

Ethnic cleansing - the definition is met

The UN definition of ethnic cleansing: "A systematic policy of expelling or killing persons of a particular ethnic group from a particular territory." Storm meets all the criteria:

• ✅ Systematic - organised from the top (ICTY evidence)
• ✅ Expulsion - 200,000-250,000 Serbs
• ✅ Killing - 1,500-2,500 dead
• ✅ A particular ethnic group - Serbs
• ✅ A particular territory - Krajina

• The Hague Tribunal did NOT designate Storm as "ethnic cleansing"
• The Western powers did NOT condemn it
• Croatia DENIES it

The situation today (2025)

Return?

Of the 200,000-250,000 expelled:

• Returned: ~50,000 (mostly old people)
• Did not return: ~150,000-200,000

• Houses burned - nowhere to return to
• Fear of violence
• Discrimination in Croatia
• A new life in Serbia/Bosnia

Justice?

• Gotovina, Markač, Čermak - acquitted
• Domestic courts in Croatia - NO ONE CONVICTED for crimes in Storm
• Impunity - complete

Remembrance

In Croatia:

• 5 August - Day of Thanksgiving (a national holiday)
• Storm is celebrated as a "liberation operation"
• Gotovina - a national hero
• The victims - minimised or denied

• 5 August - Day of Remembrance for the victims of Storm
• Commemorations
• Demands for justice

Conclusion

Operation Storm was:

• The largest military operation in Europe after WWII
• The largest ethnic cleansing in Europe after WWII (200,000-250,000 expelled)
• Systematic violence - 1,500-2,500 dead, 22,000 houses burned
• A failure of the UN - 15,000 soldiers did not protect the civilians
• Support of the West - the US and the EU supported Croatia
• Impunity - no one punished
• Forgotten - while Srebrenica is remembered, Storm is forgotten

"Srebrenica is a genocide - justly condemned. Storm is ethnic cleansing - hushed up and forgotten. Justice is selective." - Carla del Ponte, former prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal

Eternal glory to the victims. Eternal remembrance. 🕊️