Zagreb rocket attacks
1995 rocket attacks on Croatian cities during the Croatian War of Independence
title: "Zagreb rocket attacks" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1995-crimes-in-croatia", "zagreb-in-the-croatian-war-of-independence", "cluster-bomb-attacks", "1995-mass-murders", "1990s-murders-in-croatia", "serbian-war-crimes-in-the-croatian-war-of-independence", "may-1995-in-europe", "massacres-of-croats", "massacres-in-the-croatian-war-of-independence", "crime-in-zagreb", "airport-bombings-in-europe", "1995-building-bombings", "building-bombings-in-croatia"] description: "1995 rocket attacks on Croatian cities during the Croatian War of Independence" topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreb_rocket_attacks" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1995 rocket attacks on Croatian cities during the Croatian War of Independence ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox civilian attack"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | Zagreb rocket attacks |
| image | Zagreb May Rocket attack1.jpg |
| caption | The body of Ana Mutevelić lying on the intersection of Vlaška and Draškovićeva streets |
| location | Croatia Zagreb, Croatia |
| target | Downtown Zagreb |
| Zagreb Airport | |
| date | 2–3 May 1995 |
| type | Artillery rocket attack |
| fatalities | 7 |
| injuries | 214 |
| perps | War Flag of Serbian Krajina.svg Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina |
| motive | alleged retaliation for Croatian Army offensive in Operation Flash, Anti-Croat sentiment |
| weapons | 262 mm M-87 Orkan multiple rocket launcher armed with cluster bombs |
| :: |
| title = Zagreb rocket attacks | image = Zagreb May Rocket attack1.jpg | caption = The body of Ana Mutevelić lying on the intersection of Vlaška and Draškovićeva streets | location = Croatia Zagreb, Croatia | target = Downtown Zagreb Zagreb Airport | date = 2–3 May 1995 | time = | timezone = | type = Artillery rocket attack | fatalities = 7 | injuries = 214 | perps = War Flag of Serbian Krajina.svg Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina | motive = alleged retaliation for Croatian Army offensive in Operation Flash, Anti-Croat sentiment | weapons = 262 mm M-87 Orkan multiple rocket launcher armed with cluster bombs
The Zagreb rocket attacks were two rocket attacks conducted by the Army of the Republic of Serbian Krajina that used multiple rocket launchers to strike the Croatian capital of Zagreb during the Croatian War of Independence. The attack killed seven{{cite web |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-01/2007-01-10-voa46.cfm?CFID=161290729&CFTOKEN=38299627 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070215183114/http://voanews.com/english/archive/2007-01/2007-01-10-voa46.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 15, 2007 |title=Prosecutors Seek Life Sentence for War Crimes Suspect Martic |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=January 10, 2007 |publisher=Voice of America}}{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1988406.stm |title=War crimes suspects surrender to tribunal |access-date=January 2, 2011 |date=May 15, 2002 |work=BBC News}} and wounded over 200 Croatian and foreign civilians. The missile attack was carried out on 2 May and 3 May 1995 as retaliation for the Croatian army's offensive in Operation Flash. The rocket attacks deliberately targeted civilian locations. Zagreb was the largest of several cities hit by the attack. It was not the only instance in the war in Croatia that cluster bombs were used in combat.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found Croatian Serb leader Milan Martić criminally responsible for the crimes of murder, cruel treatment, and attacks on civilians; characterized the attack as a crime against humanity; and convicted him of ordering the attack.
Introduction
During the early part of the war, the Croatian capital Zagreb was spared from devastation, as it was far from the frontlines. Serb General Milan Čeleketić announced to the press on 24 March 1995, more than a month prior to the attack, that should a Croatian offensive be launched, he expected to respond by targeting the "weak points," that is, "the parks of the Croatian cities" and added: "We know who the people in the parks are; civilians."{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/icty/transe11/R61/960308IT.htm |title=Transcript |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=March 8, 1996 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |page=144 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040601113103/http://www.un.org/icty/transe11/R61/960308IT.htm |archive-date=June 1, 2004
In May 1995 Croatia launched Operation Flash, which recaptured the area of western Slavonia (UNPA sector West) that had been under Serb control since 1991. In neighboring Bosnia, the leader of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić, threatened to send help to the Serbs in Croatia. Following the rapid collapse of the Serb defence in the area, Serb leader Milan Martić ordered Serb rocket artillery units in the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina to fire missiles on the capital of Zagreb. Karlovac and Sisak were also subjected to retaliatory attacks.
The Yugoslav-produced Orkan 262 mm multiple rocket launchers (MRL) fires M-87 non-guided missiles. The ones fired against Zagreb were armed with aviation cluster bomb warheads (called cassette bombs or Jinglebell), each of which contains 288 "bomblets" (smaller ammunition) which are ejected at a height of 1,000 meters above the target area. Upon impact, each bomblet explodes and releases 420 pellets, the lethal range of each of which is ten meters. This means that each rocket releases around 120,000 of these pellets,{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |title=Summary of Judgement for Milan Martić |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=June 12, 2007 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070818162418/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |archive-date = August 18, 2007}} which have been characterized as designed specifically to kill or maim local infantry.
Strikes
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Zagreb_May_Rocket_attack2.jpg" caption="An injured woman is tended to on [[Mažuranić Square]], downtown Zagreb"] ::
On 1 May, a meeting was held between leaders of the RSK. Although negotiations were on-going, Martić and Čeleketić were not in favor of a peaceful solution. At 1 pm on 1 May, Milan Čeleketić ordered, with Martić present, an artillery barrage on Sisak which was opened at 5 pm that day. On the same day, an M-87 Orkan rocket artillery unit from Knin was redeployed to Vojnić (about 50 km south of Zagreb).
The first attack occurred on 2 May, at 10:25 in the morning. At the time, many civilians were in the streets. The targets hit included the Strossmayer promenade, Petrinjska street and Vlaška street where a tram full of passengers was hit. The Classical Gymnasium located in the city centre was also hit, as well as Zagreb Airport. In total, five civilians were killed and 146 injured.
The second attack occurred the following day, at 12:10 in the afternoon. The children's hospital in Klaićeva street, the Croatian National Theatre building (which housed Russian, Ukrainian and British ballet dancers at the time, some of whom were wounded) and the Courthouse at Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square were among those hit.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/04/world/rebel-serbs-pound-zagreb-for-second-day.html?scp=1&sq=zagreb%20may%201995&st=cse |title=Rebel Serbs Pound Zagreb for Second Day |author=Roger Cohen |access-date=January 2, 2010 |date=May 4, 1995 |work=The New York Times}}
Two civilians were killed that day and 48 injured, which were less than the day before due to many people avoiding public areas following the first attack. Most of the missiles targeted the city center and surrounding streets, which were most likely to be filled with civilians in the morning. In total, seven people were killed and about 200 injured (of which about 100 seriously) from these attacks.
Aftermath
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Spomen_ploca_Trg_svibanjskih_žrtava_1995.jpg" caption="A plaque commemorating victims of the rocket attack"] ::
On 3 May, Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia at the time, instructed Yugoslav Army Chief of the General Staff Momčilo Perišić to call Čeleketić and forbid further strikes against Zagreb.
After 4 May and the end of Operation Flash, United Nations Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi met with Martić and condemned him for the attack. Martić then threatened to resume the attacks and spoke of "massive rocket attacks on Zagreb which would leave 100,000 people dead."
On October 10, 2013, a cluster bomb which failed to detonate was discovered on the roof of the Klaićeva children's hospital, 18 years after the attacks. After surgery on several patients had been completed, the Zagreb police bomb disposal squad was given clearance to detonate the ordnance. No one was injured in the detonation.
In May 2013, city mayor Milan Bandić opened a museum in Petrićeva St. dedicated to the tragedy.
War crimes trials by the ICTY
Immediately following the attacks, Martić appeared on Serb television and publicly boasted about ordering the attacks. This video was later used against him during his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) after he was indicted for war crimes.{{cite web |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/ind/en/mar-2ai030909e.pdf |title=Amended Indictment – Milan Martić |access-date=June 12, 2007 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |url=https://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf |title=The prosecutor vs. Milan Martić – Judgement |date=June 12, 2007 |page=172 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Perišić, was also indicted for his role in the rocket attack.{{cite web |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/perisic/ind/en/per-sai080205e.pdf |title=Second Amended Indictment – Momcilo Perisic |access-date=December 21, 2016 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Notes
References
- {{cite web |url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=27586 |title=Martic Ordered Shelling Centre Of Zagreb, Says Protected Witness |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=March 10, 2006 |publisher=Journal of Turkish Weekly |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728174843/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/27586/martic-ordered-shelling-centre-of-zagreb-says-protected-witness.html |url-status=dead
- {{cite web |url=http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/omri/1995/95-05-04.omri.html#02 |title=No. 87, Part II |access-date=June 12, 2007 |author=Patrick Moore |date=May 4, 1995 |work=Daily Digest |publisher=Open Media Research Institute |archive-date=February 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206142428/http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/omri/1995/95-05-04.omri.html#02 |url-status=dead
- {{cite journal |url=http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djcil/articles/djcil7p539.htm |title=Attacking The Enemy Civilian As A Punishable Offense |journal=Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law |access-date=June 12, 2007 |author=William J. Fenrick |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118060735/http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djcil/articles/djcil7p539.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2006}}
References
- (November 22, 2010). "Meeting the Challenge – I. The Technological Evolution and Early Proliferation and Use of Cluster Munitions". Human Rights Watch.
- (May 3, 1995). "Serbs Attack Zagreb With Cluster Bombs / Step toward full-scale war". San Francisco Gate.
- Armatta, Judith. (2010). "Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic". [[Duke University Press]].
- Ravenšćak, Ana Škiljić. "Pogledajte trenutak kad je eksplodirao 'zvončić'!". Vecernji.hr.
- (3 May 2013). "Muzej granatiranja Zagreba u Petrićevoj". zagreb.hr.
- (September 6, 2011). "Summary of the Judgement in the Case of Prosecutor v. Momčilo Perišić". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
- (September 6, 2011). "PERISIC SENTENCED TO 27 YEARS FOR CRIMES IN BH AND CROATIA". Sense-Agency.
- (February 28, 2013). "Momcilo Perisic: Yugoslav army chief conviction overturned". BBC.
- (12 June 2007). "Judgement Summary for Milan Martić". International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
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