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{{Short description|Massacre of Croatian civilians during the Croatian War of Independence}}
{{good article}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title=Lovas killings
|title=Lovas killings
| map={{Location_map+| Croatia | width=300| float=center
|map={{Location_map| Croatia | width=300| float=center |border=infobox
| caption = Lovas on the map of Croatia, JNA/Croatian Serb-held areas in late 1991 are highlighted in red
| caption =
| overlay_image =Cro-occup-lines-Jan92.svg
| overlay_image =Cro-occup-lines-Jan92.svg
| label=[[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] | coordinates={{coord|45.225821|19.168965|region:HR}}
| places =
{{Location map~|Croatia| label=[[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] | lat=45.225821| long=19.168965| label_size=75 | marksize=6| position=left| region=HR}}
| label_size=75 | marksize=6| position=left
}}
}}
|map_caption=Lovas on the map of Croatia, JNA/Croatian Serb-held areas in late 1991 are highlighted in red
|location= [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]], [[Croatia]]
|location= [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]], [[Croatia]]
|target=[[Croat]] civilians
|target=[[Croat]] civilians
Line 15: Line 15:
|time=
|time=
|timezone=
|timezone=
|type=[[Mass murder]]
|type=[[Mass murder]], [[ethnic cleansing]]
|fatalities=70
|fatalities=*70 (10–18 October 1991)
*90 killed in total between October and November 1991<ref>{{cite web|title=Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas|url=https://www.glaszrtava.org/lovas-masovna-ubistva/|access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>
|injuries=32–33
|injuries=32–33
|perps= [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia|SAO SBWS]] [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence Forces]], the [[Yugoslav People's Army]], [[List of Serbian paramilitary formations|''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries]]
|perps= [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia|SAO SBWS]] [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence Forces]], the [[Yugoslav People's Army]], [[Dusan the Mighty (Paramilitary) | Dušan the Mighty Forces]].
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
{{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
The '''Lovas killings''' ({{lang-hr|masakr u Lovasu}},{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} {{lang-sr|zločini u Lovasu|script=Latn}}, {{Cyrl|злочини у Ловасу|sr}}){{sfn|B92 9 January 2014}} involved the killing of 70 [[Croat]] civilian residents of the village of [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] between 10 and 18 October 1991, during the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. The killings took place during and in the immediate aftermath of the occupation of the village by the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA) supported by [[Croatian Serb]] forces and [[Dusan the Mighty (Paramilitary)| Dušan the Mighty Forces]]. on 10 October, two days after [[Independence of Croatia|Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia]]. The occupation occurred during the [[Battle of Vukovar]], as the JNA sought to consolidate its control over the area surrounding the city of [[Vukovar]]. The killings and abuse of the civilian population continued until 18 October, when troops guarding a group of civilians forced them to walk into a [[minefield]] at gunpoint and then opened fire upon them.

The '''Lovas killngs''' ({{lang-hr|masakr u Lovasu}},{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} {{lang-sr|''zločini u Lovasu''}}, {{Cyrl|злочини у Ловасу|sr}}){{sfn||B92|9 January 2014}} involved the killing of 70 [[Croat]] civilian residents of the village of [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] between 10–18 October 1991, during the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. The killings took place during and in the immediate aftermath of the occupation of the village by the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) supported by [[Croatian Serb]] forces and [[List of Serbian paramilitary formations|''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries]] on 10 October, two days after [[Independence of Croatia|Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia]]. The occupation occurred during the [[Battle of Vukovar]], as the JNA sought to consolidate its control over the area surrounding the city of [[Vukovar]]. The killings and abuse of the civilian population continued until 18 October, when troops guarding a group of civilians forced them to walk into a [[minefield]] at gunpoint and then opened fire upon them.


After the Croatian Serb forces, the JNA and the paramilitaries established their control in the village, the Croat population was required to wear white [[armband]]s and mark their houses using white sheets. The church in Lovas was torched and 261 houses were looted and destroyed, while 1,341 civilians were forced to leave their homes. The bodies of the victims were retrieved from a mass grave and ten individual graves in 1997. Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population size shrunk by one third compared to its pre-war level.
After the Croatian Serb forces, the JNA and the paramilitaries established their control in the village, the Croat population was required to wear white [[armband]]s and mark their houses using white sheets. The church in Lovas was torched and 261 houses were looted and destroyed, while 1,341 civilians were forced to leave their homes. The bodies of the victims were retrieved from a mass grave and ten individual graves in 1997. Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population size shrunk by one third compared to its pre-war level.


The occupation of Lovas and the killing and expulsion of its civilian population was included in the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) indictments of the [[President of Serbia]], [[Slobodan Milošević]], and [[Goran Hadžić]]—a high-ranking official of the Croatian Serb-declared wartime breakaway region of [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia]]. Milošević died before his trial was completed, and {{as of|2014|lc=yes}} Hadžić's trial is ongoing. [[Serbia]]n authorities tried and convicted a group of four for the killings, but a retrial was ordered following an appeal in 2014. Croatia indicted 17 persons in connection with the killings, although only two were available to the authorities. One of them was acquitted and the other declared unfit to stand trial.
The occupation of Lovas and the killing and expulsion of its civilian population was included in the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) indictments of the [[President of Serbia]], [[Slobodan Milošević]], and [[Goran Hadžić]], a high-ranking official of the Croatian Serb-declared wartime breakaway region of [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia]]. Both Milošević and Hadžić died before their trials could be completed. [[Serbia]]n authorities tried and convicted a group of four for the killings, but a retrial was ordered following an appeal in 2014. Croatia indicted 17 persons in connection with the killings, although only two were available to the authorities. One of them was acquitted and the other declared unfit to stand trial.


==Background==
==Background==
{{Location map+| Osijek Županja Ilok | width=300| float=right |alt= Location map of eastern Slavonia
{{Location map many| Croatia Osijek Županja Ilok | width=300
| alt= Location map of eastern Slavonia
| caption=Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar ([[Counties of Croatia|Modern county]] lines provided for reference)
| caption=Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar ([[Counties of Croatia|Modern county]] lines provided for reference)
| label1=[[Vukovar]] | lat1=45.35 | long1=19.00 | label1_size=75 | mark1size=6 | position1=right
| overlay_image =
| label2=[[Bogdanovci]] | lat2=45.338874| long2=18.928982| label2_size=75 | mark2size=6 | position2=bottom
| places =
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Vukovar]] | lat=45.35 | long=19.00 | label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=right}}
| label3=[[Dalj]] | lat3=45.48 | long3=18.99 | label3_size=75 | mark3size=6 | position3=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Bogdanovci]] | lat=45.338874| long=18.928982| label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=bottom}}
| label4=[[Vinkovci]] | lat4=45.29 | long4=18.80 | label4_size=75 | mark4size=6 | position4=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Dalj]] | lat=45.48 | long=18.99 | label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
| label5=[[Osijek]] | lat5=45.55 | long5=18.69 | label5_size=75 | mark5size=6 | position5=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Vinkovci]] | lat=45.29 | long=18.80 | label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
| label6=[[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] | lat6=45.225821| long6=19.168965| label6_size=75 | mark6size=6 | position6=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Osijek]] | lat=45.55 | long=18.69 | label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
| label7=[[Tovarnik]] | lat7=45.167032| long7=19.151455| label7_size=75 | mark7size=6 | position7=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]] | lat=45.225821| long=19.168965| label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
| label8=[[Nijemci]] | lat8=45.140157| long8=19.035755| label8_size=75 | mark8size=6 | position8=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Tovarnik]] | lat=45.167032| long=19.151455| label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
| label9=[[Nuštar]] | lat9=45.333323| long9=18.842808| label9_size=75 | mark9size=6 | position9=left
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Nijemci]] | lat=45.140157| long=19.035755| label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
{{Location map~|Osijek Županja Ilok| label=[[Nuštar]] | lat=45.333323| long=18.842808| label_size=75 | marksize=6 | position=left}}
}}
}}
{{main|Croatian War of Independence}}
{{main|Croatian War of Independence}}
After the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] won [[Croatian parliamentary election, 1990|1990 parliamentary elections]] in the [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]], ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs within the Republic worsened. The ethnic groups are also divided along religious lines as the Croats are [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] while the Serbs are [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]].{{sfn|Bax|2000|p=190}} The [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) confiscated the weapons of [[Croatia]]'s [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence]] (''Teritorijalna obrana'' - TO) forces to minimize resistance.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=117}} On 17 August, tensions escalated into an [[Log Revolution|open revolt]] by [[Serbs of Croatia|Croatian Serbs]],{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=118}} centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the [[Dalmatia]]n hinterland around Knin,{{sfn|The New York Times|19 August 1990}} and parts of the [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banovina (region)|Banovina]] and [[eastern Croatia]].{{sfn|ICTY|12 June 2007}} This revolt was followed in January 1991, by two unsuccessful attempts by [[Republic of Serbia (1990–2006)|Serbia]], supported by [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro|Montenegro]] and Serbia's provinces of [[Vojvodina]] and [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]], to obtain the [[Yugoslav Presidency]]'s approval for a JNA operation to disarm Croatian security forces.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|pp=118–119}}
After the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] won [[Croatian parliamentary election, 1990|1990 parliamentary elections]] in the [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]], ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs within the Republic worsened. The ethnic groups are also divided along religious lines as the Croats are [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] while the Serbs are [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]].{{sfn|Bax|2000|p=190}} The [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) confiscated the weapons of [[Croatia]]'s [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence]] (''Teritorijalna obrana'' TO) forces to minimize resistance.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=117}} On 17 August, tensions escalated into an [[Log Revolution|open revolt]] by [[Serbs of Croatia|Croatian Serbs]],{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=118}} centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the [[Dalmatia]]n hinterland around Knin,{{sfn|The New York Times 19 August 1990}} and parts of the [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banovina (region)|Banovina]] and [[eastern Croatia]].{{sfn|ICTY 12 June 2007}} This revolt was followed in January 1991, by two unsuccessful attempts by [[Republic of Serbia (1990–2006)|Serbia]], supported by [[Socialist Republic of Montenegro|Montenegro]] and Serbia's provinces of [[Vojvodina]] and [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]], to obtain the [[Yugoslav Presidency]]'s approval for a JNA operation to disarm Croatian security forces.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|pp=118–119}}


After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and [[Croatian special police order of battle in 1991–95|Croatian special police]] in March,{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pp=384–385}} the JNA itself, supported by Serbia and its allies, asked the Federal Presidency to give it wartime authorities and declare a state of emergency. The request was denied on 15 March, and in consequence, Serbia abandoned the goal of a more centralised Yugoslavia for that of the [[Greater Serbia]].{{sfn|Bieber|2008|p=320}} The leadership of the JNA, fragmented between supporters of the federal government of [[Ante Marković]] and others aligned with Serbia since the breakup of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia]] in 1990,{{sfn|Bieber|2008|pp=318–319}} came under the control of Serbian President [[Slobodan Milošević]]. The control shifted after Milošević publicly declared that he no longer recognized the authority of the Federal Presidency and planned to establish a Serbian army which would draw JNA's Serbian personnel to the new force. The initial objective of the JNA, that of Yugoslav unity, was was either abandoned or sought through support for Milošević. Even though he preferred a campaign to expand Serbia rather than to preserve Yugoslavia,{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=119}} the JNA equated protecting Serbs in Croatia with preservation of Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Bieber|2008|p=320}} By summer, Milošević had the JNA under full control through his control of the rump Federal Presidency and his influence over the federal defence minister and top-ranked JNA officer, [[General of the Army]] [[Veljko Kadijević]] and JNA [[chief of staff]], [[Colonel General]] [[Blagoje Adžić]].{{sfn|Armatta|2010|p=160}}
After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and [[Croatian special police order of battle in 1991–95|Croatian special police]] in March,{{sfn|Ramet|2006|pp=384–385}} the JNA itself, supported by Serbia and its allies, asked the Federal Presidency to give it wartime authorities and declare a state of emergency. The request was denied on 15 March, and in consequence, Serbia abandoned the goal of a more centralised Yugoslavia for that of the [[Greater Serbia]].{{sfn|Bieber|2008|p=320}} The leadership of the JNA, fragmented between supporters of the federal government of [[Ante Marković]] and others aligned with Serbia since the breakup of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia]] in 1990,{{sfn|Bieber|2008|pp=318–319}} came under the control of Serbian President [[Slobodan Milošević]]. The control shifted after Milošević publicly declared that he no longer recognized the authority of the Federal Presidency and planned to establish a Serbian army which would draw JNA's Serbian personnel to the new force. The initial objective of the JNA, that of Yugoslav unity, was either abandoned or sought through support for Milošević. Even though he preferred a campaign to expand Serbia rather than to preserve Yugoslavia,{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=119}} the JNA equated protecting Serbs in Croatia with preservation of Yugoslavia.{{sfn|Bieber|2008|p=320}} By summer, Milošević had the JNA under full control through his control of the rump Federal Presidency and his influence over the federal defence minister and top-ranked JNA officer, [[General of the Army]] [[Veljko Kadijević]] and JNA [[chief of staff]], [[Colonel General]] [[Blagoje Adžić]].{{sfn|Armatta|2010|p=160}}


By the end of March, the conflict had escalated into the [[Croatian War of Independence]].{{sfn|The New York Times|3 March 1991}} The JNA stepped in, increasingly supporting the Croatian Serb insurgents and preventing [[Croatian police]] from intervening.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=119}} In early April, the leaders of the Croatian Serb revolt declared their intention to integrate the area under their control, known as [[SAO Krajina]], with Serbia. The [[Government of Croatia]] viewed this declaration as an attempt to [[secession|secede]].{{sfn|The New York Times|2 April 1991}}
By the end of March, the conflict had escalated into the [[Croatian War of Independence]].{{sfn|The New York Times 3 March 1991}} The JNA stepped in, increasingly supporting the Croatian Serb insurgents and preventing [[Croatian police]] from intervening.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=119}} In early April, the leaders of the Croatian Serb revolt declared their intention to integrate the area under their control, known as [[SAO Krajina]], with Serbia. The [[Government of Croatia]] viewed this declaration as an attempt to [[secession|secede]].{{sfn|The New York Times 2 April 1991}}


In May, the Croatian government responded by forming the [[Croatian National Guard]] (''Zbor narodne garde'' - ZNG),{{sfn|EECIS|1999|pp=272–278}} but its development was hampered by a [[United Nations]] (UN) [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 713|arms embargo]] introduced in September.{{sfn|The Independent|10 October 1992}} On 8 October, [[Independence of Croatia|Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia]].{{sfn|Narodne novine|8 October 1991}} Late 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, as the [[1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia]] culminated in the [[Siege of Dubrovnik]],{{sfn|Bjelajac|Žunec|2009|pp=249–250}} and the [[Battle of Vukovar]].{{sfn|The New York Times|18 November 1991}}
In May, the Croatian government responded by forming the [[Croatian National Guard]] (''Zbor narodne garde'' ZNG),{{sfn|EECIS|1999|pp=272–278}} but its development was hampered by a [[United Nations]] (UN) [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 713|arms embargo]] introduced in September.{{sfn|The Independent 10 October 1992}} On 8 October, [[Independence of Croatia|Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia]].{{sfn|Narodne novine 8 October 1991}} Late 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, as the [[1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia]] culminated in the [[Siege of Dubrovnik]],{{sfn|Bjelajac|Žunec|2009|pp=249–250}} and the [[Battle of Vukovar]].{{sfn|The New York Times 18 November 1991}}


==Timeline==
==Timeline==
Armed clashes in eastern Slavonia gradually intensified as the JNA committed significant new units to the Battle of Vukovar, including the 453rd Mechanised Brigade, the 1st Proletarian Guards Mechanised Division,{{sfn|Marijan|2002 (a)|p=369}} and the 252nd Armoured Brigade.{{sfn|Marijan|2002 (a)|p=381}} During the initial stage of the battle, the JNA bypassed a number of Croat villages southeast of the city of [[Vukovar]]—including [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]].{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=213}} In late September 1991, the easternmost Croatian positions in the area ran along a line connecting the villages of [[Nijemci]]–[[Ilača]]–Lovas and those were defended by the 2nd Battalion of the [[3rd Guards Brigade (Croatia)|3rd Guards Brigade]] and the 109th Infantry Brigade.{{sfn|Marijan|2002 (a)|p=378}}
Armed clashes in eastern Slavonia gradually intensified as the JNA committed significant new units to the Battle of Vukovar, including the 453rd Mechanised Brigade, the 1st Proletarian Guards Mechanised Division,{{sfn|Marijan|2002a|p=369}} and the 252nd Armoured Brigade.{{sfn|Marijan|2002a|p=381}} During the initial stage of the battle, the JNA bypassed a number of Croat villages southeast of the city of [[Vukovar]]—including [[Lovas, Croatia|Lovas]].{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=213}} In late September 1991, the easternmost Croatian positions in the area ran along a line connecting the villages of [[Nijemci]]–[[Ilača]]–Lovas and those were defended by the 2nd Battalion of the [[3rd Guards Brigade (Croatia)|3rd Guards Brigade]] and the 109th Infantry Brigade.{{sfn|Marijan|2002a|p=378}}


On 1 October, after the JNA took control of the [[Nuštar]]–[[Marinci, Vukovar-Syrmia County|Marinci]]–[[Bogdanovci]]–Vukovar road, the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Guards Brigade and the 109th Infantry Brigade were moved south of Vukovar in an attempt to restore Croatian control of the route between [[Vinkovci]] and Vukovar.{{sfn|Marijan|2002 (a)|p=381}} The JNA tasked the 2nd Proletarian Guards Mechanised Brigade, to clear the Croatian [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|pocket]] centered on Lovas.{{sfn|Marijan|2002 (b)|p=57}} The JNA was supported by ''Dušan Silni'' [[List of Serbian paramilitary formations|Serbian paramilitaries]] under control of [[Dragoslav Bokan]] and the [[Serbian National Renewal]] party,{{sfn|Thomas|Mikulan|2006|p=43}} as well as Croatian Serb TO forces.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}}
On 1 October, after the JNA took control of the [[Nuštar]]–[[Marinci, Vukovar-Syrmia County|Marinci]]–[[Bogdanovci]]–Vukovar road, the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Guards Brigade and the 109th Infantry Brigade were moved south of Vukovar in an attempt to restore Croatian control of the route between [[Vinkovci]] and Vukovar.{{sfn|Marijan|2002a|p=381}} The JNA tasked the 2nd Proletarian Guards Mechanised Brigade, to clear the Croatian [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|pocket]] centered on Lovas.{{sfn|Marijan|2002b|p=57}} The JNA was supported by ''Dušan Silni'' [[List of Serbian paramilitary formations|Serbian paramilitaries]] under control of [[Dragoslav Bokan]] and the [[Serbian National Renewal]] party,{{sfn|Thomas|Mikulan|2006|p=43}} as well as Croatian Serb TO forces.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}}
[[File:Lovas 3.jpg|right|thumb|Destroyed church in Lovas, October 1991]]
[[File:Lovas 3.jpg|right|thumb|Destroyed church in Lovas, October 1991]]
The JNA, supported by the paramilitaries and the TO, entered Lovas unopposed on the morning of 10 October.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}} According to court testimony of one of the paramilitaries who took part in the events, the troops moving against Lovas were told to expect 300–400 ZNG troops defending the village. Once the attacking force entered the village, the troops continued to throw grenades and shoot at houses at random for several hours.{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} During the assault, 22 civilians were killed in their homes or back yards.{{sfn|Jutarnji list|9 January 2014}} In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of Lovas, Croat civilians were required to wear white [[armband]]s and their houses were marked using white sheets.{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} The marked houses were looted and torched by the the TO and paramilitaries.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}} Authority in the village was turned over to Ljuban Devetak, a member of the ''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries.{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} He was styled as the commander of the village,{{sfn|Rupić|2007|p=439}} but the JNA remained in overall control of the entire region.{{sfn|Armatta|2010|pp=166–167}} Over the following week, 23 more civilians were killed by the paramilitaries and the TO troops in improvised detention facilities.{{sfn|Jutarnji list|9 January 2014}} The improvised prisons were also used for torture and abuse of captives, including [[war rape]],{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} causing serious injuries to 18 civilians.{{sfn|CFPNVHR|28 November 2013}}
The JNA, supported by the paramilitaries and the TO, entered Lovas unopposed on the morning of 10 October.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}} According to court testimony of one of the paramilitaries who took part in the events, the troops moving against Lovas were told to expect 300–400 ZNG troops defending the village. Once the attacking force entered the village, the troops continued to throw grenades and shoot at houses at random for several hours.{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} During the assault, 22 civilians were killed in their homes or back yards.{{sfn|Jutarnji list 9 January 2014}} In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of Lovas, Croat civilians were required to wear white [[armband]]s and their houses were marked using white sheets.{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} The marked houses were looted and torched by the TO and paramilitaries.{{sfn|Cencich|2013|p=96}} Authority in the village was turned over to Ljuban Devetak, a member of the ''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries.{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} He was styled as the commander of the village,{{sfn|Rupić|2007|p=439}} but the JNA remained in overall control of the entire region.{{sfn|Armatta|2010|pp=166–167}} Over the following week, 23 more civilians were killed by the paramilitaries and the TO troops in improvised detention facilities.{{sfn|Jutarnji list 9 January 2014}} The improvised prisons were also used for torture and abuse of captives, including [[war rape]],{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} causing serious injuries to 18 civilians.{{sfn|CFPNVHR 28 November 2013}}


On 17 October, all men aged 18 to 60 were ordered to report for a meeting, but were detained overnight instead on the pretext that someone had fired shots in the village the previous night. The detainees were beaten, and otherwise abused that night. Approximately 20 were released in the morning, and the rest were told that they were assigned to grape harvest duty. The civilians walked out of the village under a military escort.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} One of the civilians was killed by the guards,{{sfn|ICTY|23 October 2002|loc=item 52}} before the group reached a point within {{convert|1|to|2|km|abbr=off}} of the Vukovar–Tovarnik road, where they were ordered into a [[clover]]field at gunpoint. The men were told to hold hands and sweep their feet in front of them across the ground.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} The JNA had previously placed [[land mine]]s in the field.{{sfn|Nacional|17 April 2008}} Several mines were set off, while the troops guarding the civilian detainees fired at the men in the field. The survivors were then forced to retrieve the dead and injured and clear the remaining mines.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} Out of 50 civilians forced into the minefield, 21 were killed in the minefield itself.{{sfn|ICTY|23 October 2002|loc=item 52}} The number of persons wounded by mine explosions or gunfire is variously reported as 14 or 15.{{sfn|Index.hr|18 October 2003}}{{sfn|CFPNVHR|28 November 2013}} Three more civilians were killed in Lovas by the end of November.{{sfn|Jutarnji list|9 January 2014}}
On 17 October, all men aged 18 to 60 were ordered to report for a meeting, but were detained overnight instead on the pretext that someone had fired shots in the village the previous night. The detainees were beaten, and otherwise abused that night. Approximately 20 were released in the morning, and the rest were told that they were assigned to grape harvest duty. The civilians walked out of the village under a military escort.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} One of the civilians was killed by the guards,{{sfn|ICTY 23 October 2002|loc=item 52}} before the group reached a point within {{convert|1|to|2|km|abbr=off}} of the Vukovar–Tovarnik road, where they were ordered into a [[clover]]field at gunpoint. The men were told to hold hands and sweep their feet in front of them across the ground.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} The JNA had previously placed [[land mine]]s in the field.{{sfn|Nacional 17 April 2008}} Several mines were set off, while the troops guarding the civilian detainees fired at the men in the field. The survivors were then forced to retrieve the dead and injured and clear the remaining mines.{{sfn|Hedl|2006|pp=2–3}} Out of 50 civilians forced into the minefield, 21 were killed in the minefield itself.{{sfn|ICTY 23 October 2002|loc=item 52}} The number of persons wounded by mine explosions or gunfire is variously reported as 14 or 15.{{sfn|Index.hr 18 October 2003}}{{sfn|CFPNVHR 28 November 2013}} Between 17 October and 3 November, Serb forces killed an additional 28 civilians.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas|url=https://www.glaszrtava.org/lovas-masovna-ubistva/|access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref> Three more civilians were killed in Lovas by the end of November.{{sfn|Jutarnji list 9 January 2014}} Between October and November 1991, some 90 Croat and other non-Serb civilians had been killed by Serb forces, or had disappeared.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas|url=https://www.glaszrtava.org/lovas-masovna-ubistva/|access-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
[[File:Lovas2.jpg|right|thumb|Memorial service held at the site of the former minefield]]
[[File:Lovas2.jpg|right|thumb|Memorial service held at the site of the former minefield]]
[[File:Lovas1.jpg|right|thumb|Photos of victims of Lovas massacre]]
[[File:Lovas1.jpg|right|thumb|Photos of victims of the Lovas killings]]
In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of the village by the JNA and the paramilitaries, 1,341 civilians were forced to leave Lovas. The local Roman Catholic church of St. Michael was torched and 261 houses destroyed.{{sfn|Večernji list|10 October 2013}} In 1995, the establishment of the [[United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium]] (UNTAES) and the gradual restoration of Croatian control in the region was agreed between Croatian authorities and Croatian Serbs in the region through the [[Erdut Agreement]].{{sfn|Ramet|Matić|2007|p=46}} United Nations experts began exhuming victims from a [[mass grave]] in Lovas on 2 June 1997.{{sfn|RFE/RL|4 June 1997}} Sixty-eight bodies, including those of people killed in Lovas, were ultimately recovered from the mass grave, and ten more were recovered from nearby individual graves. The exhumed victims were reburied on 21 March 1998.{{sfn|HR Vukovar|21 March 2013}} A monument to the civilian victims was erected at the site of the mass grave on 27 May 1999,{{sfn|MVA}} as was a cross to mark the location of the minefield.{{sfn|Index.hr|18 October 2003}} Another mass grave containing the bodies of six individuals was discovered in nearby Jelaš Forest, along with three individual graves. Similar to the other burial sites, the victims buried there included those killed in Lovas, as well as others, killed elsewhere in the area.{{sfn|MVA|14 October 2013}} Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population declined by one third compared to the pre-war level.{{sfn|DW|7 November 2013}}
In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of the village by the JNA and the paramilitaries, 1,341 civilians were forced to leave Lovas. The local Roman Catholic church of St. Michael was torched and 261 houses destroyed.{{sfn|Večernji list 10 October 2013}} In 1995, the establishment of the [[United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium]] (UNTAES) and the gradual restoration of Croatian control in the region was agreed between Croatian authorities and Croatian Serbs in the region through the [[Erdut Agreement]].{{sfn|Ramet|Matić|2007|p=46}} United Nations experts began exhuming victims from a [[mass grave]] in Lovas on 2 June 1997.{{sfn|RFE/RL 4 June 1997}} Sixty-eight bodies, including those of people killed in Lovas, were ultimately recovered from the mass grave, and ten more were recovered from nearby individual graves. The exhumed victims were reburied on 21 March 1998.{{sfn|HR Vukovar 21 March 2013}} A monument to the civilian victims was erected at the site of the mass grave on 27 May 1999,{{sfn|MVA}} as was a cross to mark the location of the minefield.{{sfn|Index.hr 18 October 2003}} Another mass grave containing the bodies of six individuals was discovered in nearby Jelaš Forest, along with three individual graves. Similar to the other burial sites, the victims buried there included those killed in Lovas, as well as others, killed elsewhere in the area.{{sfn|MVA 14 October 2013}} Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population declined by one third compared to the pre-war level.{{sfn|DW 7 November 2013}}


The [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) included [[war crimes]] against civilians and property committed in Lovas in October 1991 in its indictment of Milošević.{{sfn|ICTY|23 October 2002|loc=item 36}} [[Trial of Slobodan Milošević|Milošević's trial]] commenced on 12 February 2002, but Milošević died in March 2006 before a verdict could be reached.{{sfn|ICTY|2006|pp=7–8}}
The [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) included [[war crime]]s against civilians and property committed in Lovas in October 1991 in its indictment of Milošević.{{sfn|ICTY 23 October 2002|loc=item 36}} [[Trial of Slobodan Milošević|Milošević's trial]] commenced on 12 February 2002, but Milošević died in March 2006 before a verdict could be reached.{{sfn|ICTY|2006|pp=7–8}}


In 1994 and 2004 Croatian authorities filed two separate cases against a total of 17 persons, including Devetak, and indicted them on charges of [[genocide]] and war crimes committed against the civilian population of Lovas. The group included fifteen who were [[trial in absentia|tried ''in absentia'']]. In 2009, the process was split for Milan Tepavac and Ilija Vorkapić who were available to Croatian authorities, and once more a year later when Tepavac was judged not fit to stand trial. Vorkapić was acquitted in 2012.{{sfn|CFPNVHR|28 November 2013}}
In 1994 and 2004 Croatian authorities filed two separate cases against a total of 17 persons, including Devetak, and indicted them on charges of [[genocide]] and war crimes committed against the civilian population of Lovas. The group included fifteen who were [[trial in absentia|tried ''in absentia'']]. In 2009, the process was split for Milan Tepavac and Ilija Vorkapić who were available to Croatian authorities, and once more a year later when Tepavac was judged not fit to stand trial. Vorkapić was acquitted in 2012.{{sfn|CFPNVHR 28 November 2013}}


Serbian authorities charged four persons associated with former Croatian Serb authorities in the eastern Slavonia with war crimes committed in Lovas, consisting of four JNA officers and six former members of the ''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries. The trial started in 2008.{{sfn|B92|17 April 2008}} In 2012, the group was convicted of killing of 70 Croat civilians and sentenced to a total of 128 years in prison. Devetak received a prison term of 20 years, while the others received prison sentences ranging from four to fourteen years. However, in 2014, the court of appeals ordered a new trial.{{sfn|B92|9 January 2014}}
Serbian authorities charged four persons associated with former Croatian Serb authorities in the eastern Slavonia with war crimes committed in Lovas, consisting of four JNA officers and six former members of the ''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries. The trial started in 2008.{{sfn|B92 17 April 2008}} In 2012, the group was convicted of killing of 70 Croat civilians and sentenced to a total of 128 years in prison. Devetak received a prison term of 20 years, while the others received prison sentences ranging from four to fourteen years. However, in 2014, the court of appeals ordered a new trial.{{sfn|B92 9 January 2014}}


The ICTY also indicted [[Goran Hadžić]], the Croatian Serb political leader in the eastern Slavonia region and head of the [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia]] government declared by the Croatian Serbs in the region at the time before it merged into the [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]]. The charges include war crimes of persecutions, extermination, murder, imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts and cruel treatment, deportation, forcible transfer of population, wanton destruction and plunder of property.{{sfn|ICTY|22 July 2011|pp=8–16}} {{as of|2014|March}} his trial, which commenced on 16 October 2012, is in progress.{{sfn|ICTY|2014|pp=1–2}}
The ICTY also indicted [[Goran Hadžić]], the Croatian Serb political leader in the eastern Slavonia region and head of the [[SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia]] government declared by the Croatian Serbs in the region at the time before it merged into the [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]]. The charges include war crimes of persecutions, extermination, murder, imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts and cruel treatment, deportation, forcible transfer of population, wanton destruction and plunder of property.{{sfn|ICTY 22 July 2011|pp=8–16}} Hadžić died in July 2016, before his trial could be completed.{{sfn|ICTY|2014|pp=1–2}}


==See also==
==See also==
Line 78: Line 77:


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
{{reflist|20em}}
{{reflist}}


==References==
==References==
;Books
;Books
{{refbegin|60em}}
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=pXygFoqg-G0C|title=Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic|first=Judith|last=Armatta|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|year=2010|isbn= 978-0-8223-4746-0|location=Durham, North Carolina}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXygFoqg-G0C|title=Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic|first=Judith|last=Armatta|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|year=2010|isbn= 978-0-8223-4746-0|location=Durham, North Carolina}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.hr/books?id=EEBkON-ySQUC|title=Neighbors at War: Anthropological Perspectives on Yugoslav Ethnicity, Culture, and History|editor-first=Joel M.|editor-last=Halpern|first=Mart|last=Bax|pp=187-202|publisher=[[Penn State Press]]|location=University Park, Pennsylvania|isbn=9780271044354|chapter=Barbarization in a Bosnian Pilgrimage Center}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEBkON-ySQUC|title=Neighbors at War: Anthropological Perspectives on Yugoslav Ethnicity, Culture, and History|editor-first=Joel M.|editor-last=Halpern|first=Mart|last=Bax |year=2000 |pages=187–202|publisher=[[Penn State Press]]|location=University Park, Pennsylvania|isbn=9780271044354|chapter=Barbarization in a Bosnian Pilgrimage Center}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.hr/books?id=aGy3dO_aDisC|title=State Collapse in South-Eastern Europe: New Perspectives on Yugoslavia's Disintegration|editor1-first=Lenard J.|editor1-last=Cohen|editor2-first=Jasna|editor2-last=Dragović-Soso|first=Florian|last=Bieber|publisher=[[Purdue University Press]]|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|year=2008|isbn=9781557534606|chapter=The Role of the Yugoslav People's Army in the Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Army Without a State?|pp=301-332}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGy3dO_aDisC|title=State Collapse in South-Eastern Europe: New Perspectives on Yugoslavia's Disintegration|editor1-first=Lenard J.|editor1-last=Cohen|editor2-first=Jasna|editor2-last=Dragović-Soso|first=Florian|last=Bieber|publisher=[[Purdue University Press]]|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|year=2008|isbn=9781557534606|chapter=The Role of the Yugoslav People's Army in the Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Army Without a State?|pages=301–332}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|title=Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t0nYdgFrdG8C|editor=Charles W. Ingrao|editor2=Thomas Allan Emmert|chapter=The War in Croatia, 1991–1995|first=Mile|last= Bjelajac|first2=Ozren |last2=Žunec|publisher=Purdue University Press|year=2009|isbn= 978-1-55753-533-7|pages=230–271|location=West Lafayette, Indiana}}
*{{cite book|title=Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0nYdgFrdG8C|editor=Charles W. Ingrao|editor2=Thomas Allan Emmert|chapter=The War in Croatia, 1991–1995|first1=Mile|last1= Bjelajac|first2=Ozren |last2=Žunec|publisher=Purdue University Press|year=2009|isbn= 978-1-55753-533-7|pages=230–271|location=West Lafayette, Indiana}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|title=The Devil's Garden: A War Crimes Investigator's Story|url=http://books.google.hr/books?id=tKiYPwudOZoC|first=John R.|last=Cencich|publisher=[[Potomac Books]]|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|isbn=978-1-61234-172-9|year=2013}}
*{{cite book|title=The Devil's Garden: A War Crimes Investigator's Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKiYPwudOZoC|first=John R.|last=Cencich|publisher=[[Potomac Books]]|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|isbn=978-1-61234-172-9|year=2013}}
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|CIA|2002}}|url=http://books.google.hr/books?id=it1IAQAAIAAJ|title=Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995, Volume 2|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|author=[[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Russian and European Analysis|year=2002|oclc=50396958|location=Washington, D.C.}}
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|CIA|2002}}|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it1IAQAAIAAJ|title=Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995, Volume 2|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|author=[[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Russian and European Analysis|year=2002|oclc=50396958|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn = 9780160664724}}
*{{cite book|title=Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States|year=1999|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qmN95fFocsMC| ref={{harvid|EECIS|1999}}|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-85743-058-5|location=London, England}}
*{{cite book|title=Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmN95fFocsMC| ref={{harvid|EECIS|1999}}|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-85743-058-5|location=London, England}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.hr/books?hl=hr&id=oFXdiS25N78C|editor-first=Sabrina P.|editor-last=Ramet|title=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-139-48750-4|chapter=The War of Yugoslav Succession|first=Marko Attila|last=Hoare|authorlink=Marko Attila Hoare|pages=111–136|location=Cambridge, England}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oFXdiS25N78C|editor-first=Sabrina P.|editor-last=Ramet|title=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-139-48750-4|chapter=The War of Yugoslav Succession|first=Marko Attila|last=Hoare|author-link=Marko Attila Hoare|pages=111–136|location=Cambridge, England}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LIAOo5oYThUC|title=Democratic Transition in Croatia: Value Transformation, Education & Media|first1=Sabrina P.|last1=Ramet|first2=Davorka|last2=Matić|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|year=2007|isbn= 978-1-58544-587-5|location=College Station, Texas}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIAOo5oYThUC|title=Democratic Transition in Croatia: Value Transformation, Education & Media|first1=Sabrina P.|last1=Ramet|first2=Davorka|last2=Matić|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|year=2007|isbn= 978-1-58544-587-5|location=College Station, Texas}}
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Marijan|2002 (b)}}|url=http://books.google.hr/books?ei=OOclU97uEuXnygOu9oJo&hl=hr&id=GpBpAAAAMAAJ|title=Smrt oklopne brigade|trans_title=Death of Armoured Brigade|language=Croatian|first=Davor|last=Marijan|year=2002|publisher=Zoro|location=Zagreb, Croatia|isbn=953-6296-17-9}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GpBpAAAAMAAJ|title=Smrt oklopne brigade|trans-title=Death of Armoured Brigade|language=hr|first=Davor|last=Marijan|year=2002b|publisher=Zoro|location=Zagreb, Croatia|isbn=953-6296-17-9}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC|title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building And Legitimation, 1918–2006|first=Sabrina P.|last=Ramet|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=2006|isbn= 978-0-253-34656-8|location=Bloomington, Indiana}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC|title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building And Legitimation, 1918–2006|first=Sabrina P.|last=Ramet|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=2006|isbn= 978-0-253-34656-8|location=Bloomington, Indiana}}
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Rupić|2007}}|url=http://www.centardomovinskograta.hr/pdf/izdanja/Dokumenti_01.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Hrvatski memorijalno-dokumentacijski centar Domovinskog rata|location=Zagreb, Croatia|year=2007|editor-first=Marko|editor-last=Rupić|title=Republika Hrvatska i Domovinski rat 1990. – 1995. – Dokumenti, Knjiga 1.|trans_title=The Republic of Croatia and the Croatian War of Independence 1990–1995 – Documents, volume 1|isbn=978-953-7439-03-3}}
*{{cite book|url=http://www.centardomovinskograta.hr/pdf/izdanja/Dokumenti_01.pdf|publisher=Hrvatski memorijalno-dokumentacijski centar Domovinskog rata|location=Zagreb, Croatia|year=2007|editor-first=Marko|editor-last=Rupić|title=Republika Hrvatska i Domovinski rat 1990. – 1995. – Dokumenti, Knjiga 1.|trans-title=The Republic of Croatia and the Croatian War of Independence 1990–1995 – Documents, volume 1|isbn=978-953-7439-03-3|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126064851/http://www.centardomovinskograta.hr/pdf/izdanja/Dokumenti_01.pdf|archive-date=26 November 2016|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=http://books.google.hr/books?id=G5Px01NrM7QC|title=The Yugoslav Wars (1): Slovenia & Croatia 1991–95|first1=Nigel|last1=Thomas|first2=Krunislav|last2=Mikulan|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|location=Oxford, England|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84176-963-9}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5Px01NrM7QC|title=The Yugoslav Wars (1): Slovenia & Croatia 1991–95|first1=Nigel|last1=Thomas|first2=Krunislav|last2=Mikulan|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|location=Oxford, England|year=2006|isbn=978-1-84176-963-9|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218120417/http://books.google.hr/books?id=G5Px01NrM7QC|archive-date=18 December 2014}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


;Scientific journal articles
;Scientific journal articles
{{refbegin|60em}}
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite journal|ref={{harvid|Marijan|2002 (a)}}|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=17412|language=Croatian|title=Bitka za Vukovar 1991.|trans_title=Battle of Vukovar in 1991|first=Davor|last=Marijan|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|publisher=Croatian Historical Institute - Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja|location=Slavonski Brod, Croatia|issn=1332-4853|volume=2|issue=1|date=October 2002|pages=367–402}}
*{{cite journal|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=17412|language=hr|title=Bitka za Vukovar 1991|trans-title=Battle of Vukovar in 1991|first=Davor|last=Marijan|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|publisher=Croatian Historical Institute Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja|location=Slavonski Brod, Croatia|issn=1332-4853|volume=2|issue=1|date=October 2002a|pages=367–402}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


;News reports
;News reports
{{refbegin|60em}}
{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Independent|10 October 1992}}|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/croatia-built-web-of-contacts-to-evade-weapons-embargo-1556500.html|title=Croatia built 'web of contacts' to evade weapons embargo|first=Christopher|last=Bellamy|date=10 October 1992|archivedate=10 November 2012|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20121110025827/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/croatia-built-web-of-contacts-to-evade-weapons-embargo-1556500.html|deadurl=no}}
*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Independent 10 October 1992}} |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/croatia-built-web-of-contacts-to-evade-weapons-embargo-1556500.html |title=Croatia built 'web of contacts' to evade weapons embargo |first=Christopher |last=Bellamy |date=10 October 1992 |archive-date=10 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110025827/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/croatia-built-web-of-contacts-to-evade-weapons-embargo-1556500.html |url-status=live }}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Jutarnji list|9 January 2014}}|newspaper=[[Jutarnji list]]|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/beograd--ukinuta-presuda-za-ubojstvo-70-civila-u-lovasu/1153477/|date=9 January 2014|language=Croatian|title=Beograd: Ukinuta presuda za ubojstvo 70 civila u Lovasu|trans_title=Belgrade: Verdict for Murder of 70 Civilians in Lovas Abolished}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Jutarnji list 9 January 2014}}|newspaper=[[Jutarnji list]]|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/beograd--ukinuta-presuda-za-ubojstvo-70-civila-u-lovasu/1153477/|date=9 January 2014|language=hr|title=Beograd: Ukinuta presuda za ubojstvo 70 civila u Lovasu|trans-title=Belgrade: Verdict for Murder of 70 Civilians in Lovas Abolished}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|3 March 1991}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html|first=Stephen|last=Engelberg|title=Belgrade Sends Troops to Croatia Town|date=3 March 1991|archivedate=2 October 2013|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20131002222925/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html|deadurl=no}}
*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times 3 March 1991}} |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html |first=Stephen |last=Engelberg |title=Belgrade Sends Troops to Croatia Town |date=3 March 1991 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002222925/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/world/belgrade-sends-troops-to-croatia-town.html |url-status=live }}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|RFE/RL|4 June 1997}}|date=4 June 1997|title=More Bodies Found Near Vukovar|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1141422.html|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|RFE/RL 4 June 1997}}|date=4 June 1997|title=More Bodies Found Near Vukovar|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1141422.html|publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|B92|9 January 2014}}|publisher=B92|date=9 January 2014|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2014&mm=01&dd=09&nav_id=798139|title=Novo suđenje za zločine u Lovasu|language=Serbian|trans_title=New Trial for Crimes in Lovas|agency=[[Tanjug]]}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|B92 9 January 2014}}|publisher=B92|date=9 January 2014|url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2014&mm=01&dd=09&nav_id=798139|title=Novo suđenje za zločine u Lovasu|language=sr|trans-title=New Trial for Crimes in Lovas|agency=[[Tanjug]]}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Večernji list|10 October 2013}}|newspaper=[[Večernji list]]|date=10 October 2013|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/slavonija/obiljezena-22-obljetnica-okupacije-lovasa-625765|language=Croatian|title=Obilježena 22. obljetnica okupacije Lovasa|trans_title=22nd Anniversary of Lovas Occupation Marked}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Večernji list 10 October 2013}}|newspaper=[[Večernji list]]|date=10 October 2013|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/slavonija/obiljezena-22-obljetnica-okupacije-lovasa-625765|language=hr|title=Obilježena 22. obljetnica okupacije Lovasa|trans-title=22nd Anniversary of Lovas Occupation Marked}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Index.hr|18 October 2003}}|publisher=[[Index.hr]]|date=18 October 2003|url=http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/podsjecanje--na-stradavanje-mjestana-lovasa-u-minskom-polju-/165108.aspx|language=Croatian|title=Podsjećanje na stradavanje mještana Lovasa u minskom polju|trans_title=Memory to Deaths Lovas Residents in a Minefield}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Index.hr 18 October 2003}}|publisher=[[Index.hr]]|date=18 October 2003|url=http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/podsjecanje--na-stradavanje-mjestana-lovasa-u-minskom-polju-/165108.aspx|language=hr|title=Podsjećanje na stradavanje mještana Lovasa u minskom polju|trans-title=Memory to Deaths Lovas Residents in a Minefield}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|19 August 1990}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html|agency=[[Reuters]]|title=Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts|date=19 August 1990|archivedate=21 September 2013|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20130921063029/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html|deadurl=no}}
*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times 19 August 1990}} |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |agency=[[Reuters]] |title=Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts |date=19 August 1990 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063029/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |url-status=live }}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Nacional|17 April 2008}}|newspaper=[[Nacional (weekly)]]|date=17 April 2008|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/44638/optuzeni-priznao-masakr-u-lovasu-ali-tvrdi-da-nije-sudjelovao|first=Hrvoje|last=Šimičević|language=Croatian|title=Optuženi priznao masakr u Lovasu, ali tvrdi da nije sudjelovao|trans_title=Defendant Admits Lovas Massacre, Claims he Played no Part in it}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Nacional 17 April 2008}}|newspaper=[[Nacional (weekly)]]|date=17 April 2008|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/44638/optuzeni-priznao-masakr-u-lovasu-ali-tvrdi-da-nije-sudjelovao|first=Hrvoje|last=Šimičević|language=hr|title=Optuženi priznao masakr u Lovasu, ali tvrdi da nije sudjelovao|trans-title=Defendant Admits Lovas Massacre, Claims he Played no Part in it|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=16 March 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140316225338/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/44638/optuzeni-priznao-masakr-u-lovasu-ali-tvrdi-da-nije-sudjelovao|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|18 November 1991}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/18/world/croats-concede-danube-town-s-loss.html| title=Croats Concede Danube Town's Loss|first=Chuck|last=Sudetic|authorlink=Chuck Sudetic|date=18 November 1991|archivedate=14 November 2013|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20131114143713/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/18/world/croats-concede-danube-town-s-loss.html|deadurl=no}}
*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times 18 November 1991}} |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/18/world/croats-concede-danube-town-s-loss.html |title=Croats Concede Danube Town's Loss |first=Chuck |last=Sudetic |author-link=Chuck Sudetic |date=18 November 1991 |archive-date=14 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114143713/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/18/world/croats-concede-danube-town-s-loss.html |url-status=live }}
*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|2 April 1991}}|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/world/rebel-serbs-complicate-rift-on-yugoslav-unity.html|title=Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity|first=Chuck|last=Sudetic|date=2 April 1991|archivedate=2 October 2013|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20131002222938/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/world/rebel-serbs-complicate-rift-on-yugoslav-unity.html|deadurl=no}}
*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times 2 April 1991}} |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/world/rebel-serbs-complicate-rift-on-yugoslav-unity.html |title=Rebel Serbs Complicate Rift on Yugoslav Unity |first=Chuck |last=Sudetic |date=2 April 1991 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002222938/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/02/world/rebel-serbs-complicate-rift-on-yugoslav-unity.html |url-status=live }}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|DW|7 November 2013}}|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=http://www.dw.de/lovas-op%C4%87ina-koja-je-spremno-u%C5%A1la-u-europsku-uniju/a-17209556|first=Vuk|last=Tešija|date=7 November 2013|language=Croatian|title=Lovas - općina koja je spremno ušla u Europsku uniju|trans_title=Lovas - A Municipality Which Was Prepared for Accession to the European Union}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|DW 7 November 2013}}|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=http://www.dw.de/lovas-op%C4%87ina-koja-je-spremno-u%C5%A1la-u-europsku-uniju/a-17209556|first=Vuk|last=Tešija|date=7 November 2013|language=hr|title=Lovas općina koja je spremno ušla u Europsku uniju|trans-title=Lovas A Municipality Which Was Prepared for Accession to the European Union}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|B92|17 April 2008}}|publisher=[[B92]]|date=17 April 2008|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes.php?yyyy=2008&mm=04&dd=17&nav_id=49509|title=Trial into Lovas massacre under way}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|B92 17 April 2008}}|publisher=[[B92]]|date=17 April 2008|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes.php?yyyy=2008&mm=04&dd=17&nav_id=49509|title=Trial into Lovas massacre under way}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|HR Vukovar|21 March 2013}}|publisher=Croatian Radio Vukovar|date=21 March 2013|language=Croatian|title=15. obljetnica pokopa u Lovasu|trans_title=15th Anniversary of Lovas Burial|first=Jasenka|last=Vrdoljak|url=http://www.hrv.hr/vijesti/aktualnosti/item/2313-15obljetnica-pokopa-u-lovasu}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|HR Vukovar 21 March 2013}}|publisher=Croatian Radio Vukovar|date=21 March 2013|language=hr|title=15. obljetnica pokopa u Lovasu|trans-title=15th Anniversary of Lovas Burial|first=Jasenka|last=Vrdoljak|url=http://www.hrv.hr/vijesti/aktualnosti/item/2313-15obljetnica-pokopa-u-lovasu|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=20 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820035501/http://www.hrv.hr/vijesti/aktualnosti/item/2313-15obljetnica-pokopa-u-lovasu|url-status=dead}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


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{{refbegin|60em}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|2006}}|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/cis/en/cis_milosevic_slobodan_en.pdf|format=PDF|title=Case Information Sheet - Kosovo, Croatia & Bosnia (IT-02-54) Slobodan Milošević|publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|year=2006}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|2006}}|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/cis/en/cis_milosevic_slobodan_en.pdf|title=Case Information Sheet Kosovo, Croatia & Bosnia (IT-02-54) Slobodan Milošević|publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|year=2006}}
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*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|2014}}|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzic/cis/en/cis_hadzic_en.pdf|title=Case Information Sheet (IT-04-75) Goran Hadžić|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|year=2014}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|CFPNVHR|28 November 2013}}|date=28 November 2013|publisher=Centre for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights|url=http://www.centar-za-mir.hr/en/ps/zlocin-u-lovasu/|title=Crime in Lovas}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|CFPNVHR 28 November 2013}}|date=28 November 2013|publisher=Centre for Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights|url=http://www.centar-za-mir.hr/en/ps/zlocin-u-lovasu/|title=Crime in Lovas|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034507/http://www.centar-za-mir.hr/en/ps/zlocin-u-lovasu/|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite journal|ref=harv|url=http://www.tuzilastvorz.org.rs/html_trz/(CASOPIS)/ENG/ENG03/861.pdf|format=PDF|first=Drago|last=Hedl|authorlink=Drago Hedl|title=The Hague - Vukovar - Belgrade|journal=Justice in Transition|issue=3|issn=1452-239X|publisher=Republic of Serbia - Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor|location=Belgrade, Serbia|date=February 2006}}
*{{cite journal|url=http://www.tuzilastvorz.org.rs/html_trz/(CASOPIS)/ENG/ENG03/861.pdf|first=Drago|last=Hedl|author-link=Drago Hedl|title=The Hague Vukovar Belgrade|journal=Justice in Transition|issue=3|issn=1452-239X|publisher=Republic of Serbia Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor|location=Belgrade, Serbia|date=February 2006|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192732/http://tuzilastvorz.org.rs/html_trz/(casopis)/eng/eng03/861.pdf|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|MVA}}|publisher=[[Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (Croatia)]]|url=https://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/obiljezavanje-mjesta-masovnih-grobnica|title=Obilježavanje mjesta masovnih grobnica|language=Croatian|trans_title=Mass Grave Site Marking}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|MVA}}|publisher=[[Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (Croatia)]]|url=https://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/obiljezavanje-mjesta-masovnih-grobnica|title=Obilježavanje mjesta masovnih grobnica|language=hr|trans-title=Mass Grave Site Marking|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024134042/http://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/obiljezavanje-mjesta-masovnih-grobnica|archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite journal|ref={{harvid|Narodne novine|8 October 1991}}|url=http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/1991_10_53_1265.html|journal=[[Narodne novine]]|issue=53|issn=1333-9273|language=Croatian|title=Odluka|trans_title=Decision|publisher=Narodne novine d.d.|date=8 October 1991}}
*{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Narodne novine 8 October 1991}} |url=http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/1991_10_53_1265.html |journal=[[Narodne novine]] |issue=53 |issn=1333-9273 |language=hr |title=Odluka |trans-title=Decision |publisher=Narodne novine d.d. |date=8 October 1991 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923040416/http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/1991_10_53_1265.html |archive-date=23 September 2009 }}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|MVA|14 October 2013}}|title=Otkrivanje spomen-obilježja mjesta masovne grobnice "Šuma Jelaš" i posljednji ispraćaj 11 Sotinjana|trans_title=Jelaš Forest Mass Grave Memorial Unveiled and 11 of Sotin Laid to Rest|language=Croatian|date=14 October 2013|url=http://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/otkrivanje-spomen-obiljezja-mjesta-masovne-grobnice-suma-jelas-i-posljednji-ispracaj-11-sotinjana-3152|publisher=Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (Croatia)}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|MVA 14 October 2013}}|title=Otkrivanje spomen-obilježja mjesta masovne grobnice "Šuma Jelaš" i posljednji ispraćaj 11 Sotinjana|trans-title=Jelaš Forest Mass Grave Memorial Unveiled and 11 of Sotin Laid to Rest|language=hr|date=14 October 2013|url=http://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/otkrivanje-spomen-obiljezja-mjesta-masovne-grobnice-suma-jelas-i-posljednji-ispracaj-11-sotinjana-3152|publisher=Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (Croatia)|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024074226/http://www.branitelji.hr/pregled/otkrivanje-spomen-obiljezja-mjesta-masovne-grobnice-suma-jelas-i-posljednji-ispracaj-11-sotinjana-3152|archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|22 July 2011}}|title=The Prosecutor of the Tribunal Against Goran Hadžić - First Amended Indictment|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzic/ind/en/110722.pdf|format=PDF|date=22 July 2011|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY 22 July 2011}}|title=The Prosecutor of the Tribunal Against Goran Hadžić First Amended Indictment|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/hadzic/ind/en/110722.pdf|date=22 July 2011|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|23 October 2002}}|title=The Prosecutor of the Tribunal Against Slobodan Milosevic - Second Amended Indictment|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/ind/en/mil-2ai020728e.htm|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=23 October 2002}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY 23 October 2002}}|title=The Prosecutor of the Tribunal Against Slobodan Milosevic Second Amended Indictment|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/ind/en/mil-2ai020728e.htm|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=23 October 2002}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|12 June 2007}}|title=The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=12 June 2007|format=PDF}}
*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY 12 June 2007}}|title=The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=12 June 2007}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


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[[Category:Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Massacres in Croatia]]
[[Category:Massacres in Croatia]]
[[Category:October 1991 events in Europe]]
[[Category:1991 in Croatia]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing in the Yugoslav Wars]]
[[Category:1991 crimes in Croatia]]
[[Category:1991 murders in Europe]]
[[Category:1990s murders in Croatia]]
[[Category:Massacres of Croats]]
[[Category:Massacres in the Croatian War of Independence]]
[[Category:Yugoslav People's Army]]

Latest revision as of 06:31, 17 May 2024

Lovas killings
Lovas on the map of Croatia, JNA/Croatian Serb-held areas in late 1991 are highlighted in red
LocationLovas, Croatia
Date10–18 October 1991
TargetCroat civilians
Attack type
Mass murder, ethnic cleansing
Deaths
  • 70 (10–18 October 1991)
  • 90 killed in total between October and November 1991[1]
Injured32–33
PerpetratorsSAO SBWS Territorial Defence Forces, the Yugoslav People's Army, Dušan the Mighty Forces.

The Lovas killings (Croatian: masakr u Lovasu,[2] Serbian: zločini u Lovasu, Cyrillic: злочини у Ловасу)[3] involved the killing of 70 Croat civilian residents of the village of Lovas between 10 and 18 October 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The killings took place during and in the immediate aftermath of the occupation of the village by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) supported by Croatian Serb forces and Dušan the Mighty Forces. on 10 October, two days after Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. The occupation occurred during the Battle of Vukovar, as the JNA sought to consolidate its control over the area surrounding the city of Vukovar. The killings and abuse of the civilian population continued until 18 October, when troops guarding a group of civilians forced them to walk into a minefield at gunpoint and then opened fire upon them.

After the Croatian Serb forces, the JNA and the paramilitaries established their control in the village, the Croat population was required to wear white armbands and mark their houses using white sheets. The church in Lovas was torched and 261 houses were looted and destroyed, while 1,341 civilians were forced to leave their homes. The bodies of the victims were retrieved from a mass grave and ten individual graves in 1997. Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population size shrunk by one third compared to its pre-war level.

The occupation of Lovas and the killing and expulsion of its civilian population was included in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indictments of the President of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, and Goran Hadžić, a high-ranking official of the Croatian Serb-declared wartime breakaway region of SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. Both Milošević and Hadžić died before their trials could be completed. Serbian authorities tried and convicted a group of four for the killings, but a retrial was ordered following an appeal in 2014. Croatia indicted 17 persons in connection with the killings, although only two were available to the authorities. One of them was acquitted and the other declared unfit to stand trial.

Background[edit]

Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar (Modern county lines provided for reference)

After the Croatian Democratic Union won 1990 parliamentary elections in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs within the Republic worsened. The ethnic groups are also divided along religious lines as the Croats are Catholics while the Serbs are Orthodox Christians.[4] The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) confiscated the weapons of Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) forces to minimize resistance.[5] On 17 August, tensions escalated into an open revolt by Croatian Serbs,[6] centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin,[7] and parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina and eastern Croatia.[8] This revolt was followed in January 1991, by two unsuccessful attempts by Serbia, supported by Montenegro and Serbia's provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo, to obtain the Yugoslav Presidency's approval for a JNA operation to disarm Croatian security forces.[9]

After a bloodless skirmish between Serb insurgents and Croatian special police in March,[10] the JNA itself, supported by Serbia and its allies, asked the Federal Presidency to give it wartime authorities and declare a state of emergency. The request was denied on 15 March, and in consequence, Serbia abandoned the goal of a more centralised Yugoslavia for that of the Greater Serbia.[11] The leadership of the JNA, fragmented between supporters of the federal government of Ante Marković and others aligned with Serbia since the breakup of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1990,[12] came under the control of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević. The control shifted after Milošević publicly declared that he no longer recognized the authority of the Federal Presidency and planned to establish a Serbian army which would draw JNA's Serbian personnel to the new force. The initial objective of the JNA, that of Yugoslav unity, was either abandoned or sought through support for Milošević. Even though he preferred a campaign to expand Serbia rather than to preserve Yugoslavia,[13] the JNA equated protecting Serbs in Croatia with preservation of Yugoslavia.[11] By summer, Milošević had the JNA under full control through his control of the rump Federal Presidency and his influence over the federal defence minister and top-ranked JNA officer, General of the Army Veljko Kadijević and JNA chief of staff, Colonel General Blagoje Adžić.[14]

By the end of March, the conflict had escalated into the Croatian War of Independence.[15] The JNA stepped in, increasingly supporting the Croatian Serb insurgents and preventing Croatian police from intervening.[13] In early April, the leaders of the Croatian Serb revolt declared their intention to integrate the area under their control, known as SAO Krajina, with Serbia. The Government of Croatia viewed this declaration as an attempt to secede.[16]

In May, the Croatian government responded by forming the Croatian National Guard (Zbor narodne garde – ZNG),[17] but its development was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo introduced in September.[18] On 8 October, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia.[19] Late 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, as the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia culminated in the Siege of Dubrovnik,[20] and the Battle of Vukovar.[21]

Timeline[edit]

Armed clashes in eastern Slavonia gradually intensified as the JNA committed significant new units to the Battle of Vukovar, including the 453rd Mechanised Brigade, the 1st Proletarian Guards Mechanised Division,[22] and the 252nd Armoured Brigade.[23] During the initial stage of the battle, the JNA bypassed a number of Croat villages southeast of the city of Vukovar—including Lovas.[24] In late September 1991, the easternmost Croatian positions in the area ran along a line connecting the villages of NijemciIlača–Lovas and those were defended by the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Guards Brigade and the 109th Infantry Brigade.[25]

On 1 October, after the JNA took control of the NuštarMarinciBogdanovci–Vukovar road, the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Guards Brigade and the 109th Infantry Brigade were moved south of Vukovar in an attempt to restore Croatian control of the route between Vinkovci and Vukovar.[23] The JNA tasked the 2nd Proletarian Guards Mechanised Brigade, to clear the Croatian pocket centered on Lovas.[26] The JNA was supported by Dušan Silni Serbian paramilitaries under control of Dragoslav Bokan and the Serbian National Renewal party,[27] as well as Croatian Serb TO forces.[28]

Destroyed church in Lovas, October 1991

The JNA, supported by the paramilitaries and the TO, entered Lovas unopposed on the morning of 10 October.[28] According to court testimony of one of the paramilitaries who took part in the events, the troops moving against Lovas were told to expect 300–400 ZNG troops defending the village. Once the attacking force entered the village, the troops continued to throw grenades and shoot at houses at random for several hours.[2] During the assault, 22 civilians were killed in their homes or back yards.[29] In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of Lovas, Croat civilians were required to wear white armbands and their houses were marked using white sheets.[2] The marked houses were looted and torched by the TO and paramilitaries.[28] Authority in the village was turned over to Ljuban Devetak, a member of the Dušan Silni paramilitaries.[2] He was styled as the commander of the village,[30] but the JNA remained in overall control of the entire region.[31] Over the following week, 23 more civilians were killed by the paramilitaries and the TO troops in improvised detention facilities.[29] The improvised prisons were also used for torture and abuse of captives, including war rape,[2] causing serious injuries to 18 civilians.[32]

On 17 October, all men aged 18 to 60 were ordered to report for a meeting, but were detained overnight instead on the pretext that someone had fired shots in the village the previous night. The detainees were beaten, and otherwise abused that night. Approximately 20 were released in the morning, and the rest were told that they were assigned to grape harvest duty. The civilians walked out of the village under a military escort.[33] One of the civilians was killed by the guards,[34] before the group reached a point within 1 to 2 kilometres (0.62 to 1.24 miles) of the Vukovar–Tovarnik road, where they were ordered into a cloverfield at gunpoint. The men were told to hold hands and sweep their feet in front of them across the ground.[33] The JNA had previously placed land mines in the field.[2] Several mines were set off, while the troops guarding the civilian detainees fired at the men in the field. The survivors were then forced to retrieve the dead and injured and clear the remaining mines.[33] Out of 50 civilians forced into the minefield, 21 were killed in the minefield itself.[34] The number of persons wounded by mine explosions or gunfire is variously reported as 14 or 15.[35][32] Between 17 October and 3 November, Serb forces killed an additional 28 civilians.[36] Three more civilians were killed in Lovas by the end of November.[29] Between October and November 1991, some 90 Croat and other non-Serb civilians had been killed by Serb forces, or had disappeared.[37]

Aftermath[edit]

Memorial service held at the site of the former minefield
Photos of victims of the Lovas killings

In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of the village by the JNA and the paramilitaries, 1,341 civilians were forced to leave Lovas. The local Roman Catholic church of St. Michael was torched and 261 houses destroyed.[38] In 1995, the establishment of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and the gradual restoration of Croatian control in the region was agreed between Croatian authorities and Croatian Serbs in the region through the Erdut Agreement.[39] United Nations experts began exhuming victims from a mass grave in Lovas on 2 June 1997.[40] Sixty-eight bodies, including those of people killed in Lovas, were ultimately recovered from the mass grave, and ten more were recovered from nearby individual graves. The exhumed victims were reburied on 21 March 1998.[41] A monument to the civilian victims was erected at the site of the mass grave on 27 May 1999,[42] as was a cross to mark the location of the minefield.[35] Another mass grave containing the bodies of six individuals was discovered in nearby Jelaš Forest, along with three individual graves. Similar to the other burial sites, the victims buried there included those killed in Lovas, as well as others, killed elsewhere in the area.[43] Lovas was rebuilt after the war, but its population declined by one third compared to the pre-war level.[44]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) included war crimes against civilians and property committed in Lovas in October 1991 in its indictment of Milošević.[45] Milošević's trial commenced on 12 February 2002, but Milošević died in March 2006 before a verdict could be reached.[46]

In 1994 and 2004 Croatian authorities filed two separate cases against a total of 17 persons, including Devetak, and indicted them on charges of genocide and war crimes committed against the civilian population of Lovas. The group included fifteen who were tried in absentia. In 2009, the process was split for Milan Tepavac and Ilija Vorkapić who were available to Croatian authorities, and once more a year later when Tepavac was judged not fit to stand trial. Vorkapić was acquitted in 2012.[32]

Serbian authorities charged four persons associated with former Croatian Serb authorities in the eastern Slavonia with war crimes committed in Lovas, consisting of four JNA officers and six former members of the Dušan Silni paramilitaries. The trial started in 2008.[47] In 2012, the group was convicted of killing of 70 Croat civilians and sentenced to a total of 128 years in prison. Devetak received a prison term of 20 years, while the others received prison sentences ranging from four to fourteen years. However, in 2014, the court of appeals ordered a new trial.[3]

The ICTY also indicted Goran Hadžić, the Croatian Serb political leader in the eastern Slavonia region and head of the SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia government declared by the Croatian Serbs in the region at the time before it merged into the Republic of Serbian Krajina. The charges include war crimes of persecutions, extermination, murder, imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts and cruel treatment, deportation, forcible transfer of population, wanton destruction and plunder of property.[48] Hadžić died in July 2016, before his trial could be completed.[49]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ "Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas". Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Nacional 17 April 2008.
  3. ^ a b B92 9 January 2014.
  4. ^ Bax 2000, p. 190.
  5. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 117.
  6. ^ Hoare 2010, p. 118.
  7. ^ The New York Times 19 August 1990.
  8. ^ ICTY 12 June 2007.
  9. ^ Hoare 2010, pp. 118–119.
  10. ^ Ramet 2006, pp. 384–385.
  11. ^ a b Bieber 2008, p. 320.
  12. ^ Bieber 2008, pp. 318–319.
  13. ^ a b Hoare 2010, p. 119.
  14. ^ Armatta 2010, p. 160.
  15. ^ The New York Times 3 March 1991.
  16. ^ The New York Times 2 April 1991.
  17. ^ EECIS 1999, pp. 272–278.
  18. ^ The Independent 10 October 1992.
  19. ^ Narodne novine 8 October 1991.
  20. ^ Bjelajac & Žunec 2009, pp. 249–250.
  21. ^ The New York Times 18 November 1991.
  22. ^ Marijan 2002a, p. 369.
  23. ^ a b Marijan 2002a, p. 381.
  24. ^ CIA 2002, p. 213.
  25. ^ Marijan 2002a, p. 378.
  26. ^ Marijan 2002b, p. 57.
  27. ^ Thomas & Mikulan 2006, p. 43.
  28. ^ a b c Cencich 2013, p. 96.
  29. ^ a b c Jutarnji list 9 January 2014.
  30. ^ Rupić 2007, p. 439.
  31. ^ Armatta 2010, pp. 166–167.
  32. ^ a b c CFPNVHR 28 November 2013.
  33. ^ a b c Hedl 2006, pp. 2–3.
  34. ^ a b ICTY 23 October 2002, item 52.
  35. ^ a b Index.hr 18 October 2003.
  36. ^ "Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas". Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Rekom mreža pomirjena:Lovas". Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  38. ^ Večernji list 10 October 2013.
  39. ^ Ramet & Matić 2007, p. 46.
  40. ^ RFE/RL 4 June 1997.
  41. ^ HR Vukovar 21 March 2013.
  42. ^ MVA.
  43. ^ MVA 14 October 2013.
  44. ^ DW 7 November 2013.
  45. ^ ICTY 23 October 2002, item 36.
  46. ^ ICTY 2006, pp. 7–8.
  47. ^ B92 17 April 2008.
  48. ^ ICTY 22 July 2011, pp. 8–16.
  49. ^ ICTY 2014, pp. 1–2.

References[edit]

Books
Scientific journal articles
  • Marijan, Davor (October 2002a). "Bitka za Vukovar 1991" [Battle of Vukovar in 1991]. Scrinia Slavonica (in Croatian). 2 (1). Slavonski Brod, Croatia: Croatian Historical Institute – Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja: 367–402. ISSN 1332-4853.
News reports
Other sources

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