Vukašin Šoškoćanin ( sr-cyr, Вукашин Шошкоћанин, ; 24 June 1958 – 15 May 1991) was a Croatian Serb war commander active during the Croatian War.

Biography

Born to Milan and Ljubica Šoškoćanin on 24 June 1958, Vukašin had two brothers, Radovan and Dušan. He became a member of the Serb Democratic Party in 1990. He was a veterinary technician in

Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...

. Šoškoćanin was president of the Borovo commune and commander of the Borovo Selo Territorial Defense Force during the Croatian War, most notably during the Battle of Borovo Selo. He was a known associate of a Serbian politician,

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 ...

. He is also considered responsible for the murder of twelve Croatian policemen in May 1991.

Death and legacy

On 15 May 1991 at around 10:30 AM, while returning from a visit to a refugee camp in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

, he died by drowning in the

Danube river The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

in a "boating accident." Milan Paroški publicly questioned the official cause of death and claimed that frogmen (either the Yugoslav River Flotilla or the Serbian State Security) were responsible for Šoškoćanin's death. Paroški also claimed that Šoškoćanin was "an excellent swimmer."'' Pogledi'', issue number 138, pp. 16-17, 9 March 1993; YU His death is still labeled under "mysterious circumstances." After his death and during the occupation of the Croatian territory an elementary school in Borovo was named in his honour. He was posthumously awarded the title of "Hero of the People" by the Serbian authorities in occupied

Beli Manastir Beli Manastir ( sr-Cyrl, Бели Манастир, ) is a town in eastern Croatia. It is the principal town of the Croatian part of Baranja, located in the Osijek-Baranja County. Name The name means "white monastery" in Serbo-Croatian. Origina ...

on 25 September 1991.Mauzolej ratnog zločinca Vukašina Šoškočanina i dalje stoji u Borovu Selu
tportal.hr; accessed 5 May 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soskocanin, Vukasin 1958 births 1991 deaths Serbs of Croatia Serbian soldiers Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Republic of Serbian Krajina Deaths by drowning Death conspiracy theories Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches