The Voćin killings refers to the disappearances and murders of ethnic Serbs in

Voćin Voćin is a village and municipality in western Slavonia, Croatia, located southwest of Slatina and east of Daruvar. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021). Geography Voćin, a pilgrima ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and surrounding villages in December 1991 by the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

(HV) during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

Background

is a village located at the bottom of the Papuk mountain, about 20 kilometers from (Podravska) Slatina, Western Slavonia. By March 1991, tensions between Croats and Serbs escalated into the

. During the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia, the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) was stopped from advancing through Western Slavonia by the

Croatian National Guard The Croatian National Guard ( or ZNG) was an armed force established by Croatia in April and May 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although it was established within the framework of the Ministry of the Interior for legal reasons, th ...

(''Zbor Narodne Garde'' – ZNG), although

SAO Western Slavonia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Western Slavonia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Zapadna Slavonija, Српска аутономна област Западна Славонија) was a Serbian self-proclaimed Serb Autonomous Region ( ...

Territorial Defense Forces (''Teritorijalna odbrana'' – TO) units took positions on the

Bilogora Bilogora (English: ) is a low mountainous range and a microregion in Central Croatia. It consists of a series of hills and small plains some 80 kilometres in length stretching in the direction northwest–southeast, along the southwest part of the ...

and

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega, Croatia, Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna Gora (Slavonia), Ravna gora and Psunj to the south ...

north of Pakrac, near Virovitica and Slatina. The entry of Serb paramilitaries, including the

White Eagles White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

led to persecutions and crimes committed against the Croat population, incited by

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician and convicted war criminal. He is the founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Between 1998 and 2000, he was a D ...

, who visited Voćin. Following military successes which recaptured territory, the HV advanced towards the village on 12 December 1991. The White Eagles were made to retreat, abandoning Voćin and while doing so were instructed to take no prisoners. On December 13, 1991, more than 40 villagers were killed, and the village was burned.

Incidents

The HV captured Voćin on the night of 14–15 December, the village's Serb population having withdrawn the night before. Following the withdrawal of the Serb forces and arrival of Croatian forces, crimes against the Serb civilian population who stayed behind took place. Croatian soldiers torched many homes that belonged to the Serbs who had once inhabited the village. Over the course of several days, many Serbs disappeared or were killed. Most of those killed were over the age of 60. The Serb National Council lists 24 names of Serbs who disappeared or were killed in Voćin and surrounding villages. The Serbian

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Veritas lists a total of 40 Serb civilians who were killed. The Croatian NGO Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past also lists a total of 40 names of Serb civilians who died on 12–13 December 1991. They note that the manner in which they were killed is not known, that the list is incomplete and that no one has been held accountable for the crimes committed against Serbs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voćin killings 1991 in Croatia Massacres in 1991 Croatian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence Mass murder in 1991 December 1991 in Yugoslavia 1991 crimes in Croatia 1991 murders in Europe 1990s murders in Croatia Massacres of Serbs