Kozarac ( sr-cyrl, Козарац, ) is a town in north-western

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, located near the city of

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

. It is located west of

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. Kozarac is also famous because of the

Kozara National Park Kozara National Park ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Национални парк Козара, Nacionalni park Kozara) is a national park in Bosnia and Herzegovina that was proclaimed a protected national forest in 1967 by Josip Broz Tito. It is situated betwe ...

. Kozarac has two public swimming pools, 14 mosques, two churchеs and a shopping mall. Every summer in Kozarac, famous musicians from across the whole of former Yugoslavia perform in the town.

History

During the time of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, Kozarac had a population of 4,045. During the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, the ethnic cleansing of Kozarac began on May 24, 1992. For three days, Kozarac was bombarded with shells and mortars. After a few hours of bombardment, Serb forces used loudspeakers to demand the surrender of the mainly Muslim population of Kozarac, promising them safety if they complied. However, when the civilian population complied, the shelling resumed, killing many of those who surrendered. The survivors fled back to their basements or into the hills. After 37 hours of bombardment, Serb forces once again demanded the surrender of the population, who complied once again. With the help of a local Serb, the invading Serb forces identified the town's important Muslims, including the mayor, police chief, doctors, lawyers, judges, businessmen, and even athletes, and killed them either by shooting them or slitting their throats in a nearby house, effectively committing

eliticide Eliticide or elitocide refers to "the killing of the leadership, the educated, and the clergy of a group." It is usually carried out during the beginning of a genocide in order to cripple a possible resistance movement against its perpetrators. Exa ...

of the town. Between 2,500 to 3,000 mostly Bosniak civilians were killed by Serb forces in only 72 hours.

Demographics

Notable people

Duško Tadić Duško Tadić (born 1 October 1955, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian Serb politician, former SDS leader in Kozarac and a former member of the paramilitary forces supporting the attack on the district of Prijedor. He was con ...

, war criminal *

Eldin Jakupović Eldin Jakupović (; born 2 October 1984) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. He started his professional career at Grasshopper Club Zürich in 2004, then moved to FC Thun a ...

, footballer *

Nedžad Mulabegović Nedžad Mulabegović (born 4 February 1981) is a Croatian shot putter of Bosniak origin. His personal best throw is 20.67 metres, achieved in July 2014 in Varaždin, Croatia. He finished twelfth at the 2000 World Junior Championships and won ...

, athlete *

Vehid Gunić Vehid Gunić (Kozarac, 9 February 1941 – Sarajevo, 29 April 2017) was a Bosnian journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disse ...

, journalist *

Fikret Hodžić Fikret Hodžić (26 June 1953 – 9 July 1992) was a professional Bosnian bodybuilder. Hodžić competed during the 1970s and 1980s representing the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Hodžić was murdered near his home by Serb paramilit ...

, professional body builder *

Sakib Mahmuljin Sakib Mahmuljin (born 13 October 1952) is a Bosniak politician and former military leader who served as the commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) during the Bosnian War. After the war, he was ...

, war criminal

References in popular culture

In the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

drama series

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...

episode 84 "Things Can Only Get Better", Hana Keranović, a suspect in the case, comes from Kozarac.New Tricks, Things Can Only Get Better
Episode Script.
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References

External links

Official Kozarac Community Council Website
(Bosnian)
Official web site of Kozarac
(Bosnian) Populated places in Prijedor {{Prijedor-geo-stub