The Tovarnik massacre was the mass murder of Croat civilians by Serb forces on 22 September 1991 in the village of

Tovarnik Tovarnik (, sr-Cyrl, Товарник, hu, Felsőtárnok, german: Sankt Georg, la, Ulmo) is a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia next to the border with Serbia with the town of Šid and the village of Ilinci on the other sid ...

Background

During the September 1991

Yugoslav Campaign in Croatia The 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia was a series of engagements between the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), the Yugoslav Navy and the Yugoslav Air Force, and the Croatian National Guard (ZNG) then the Croatian Army (HV) during the Croatian War o ...

, JNA and local Krajina Serb forces attacked and occupied several villages in Eastern Slavonia and Croatian

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

(modern-day

Vukovar-Srijem County Vukovar-Srijem County ( hr, Vukovarsko-srijemska županija), Vukovar-Sirmium County or Vukovar-Syrmia County, named after the eponymous town of Vukovar and the region of Syrmia, is the easternmost Croatian county. It includes the eastern parts ...

) during the JNA-led offensive against

Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...

and adjacent areas. The village of

, on the border with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, fell on the 22 September 1991, after light resistance by a few local Croat defenders.

Killings

JNA and local Serb rebels entered the village and immediately began to abuse and kill the remaining Croat inhabitants that had not been able to flee, 68 Croat civilians were killed on 22 September 1991. Among those killed included the village priest, Ivan Burik. In the months following the massacre, the local Croat civilian population that remained continued to be abused and persecuted.

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

were forced to wear white armbands to identify themselves. Civilians from

and nearby areas continued to be psychologically and physically tortured, with some 300 civilians and POWs taken to nearby detention camps. Serb forces had expelled 95% of the 2,500

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

inhabitants by the end of 1991 and had destroyed 75% of the homes and buildings in the village.

References

{{coord missing, Croatia 1991 in Croatia Mass murder in 1991 Massacres in 1991 September 1991 events in Europe Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence Massacres in Croatia Massacres of Croats

Background

Killings

See also

References