Gospić massacre
1991 mass killings of civilians in Gospić, Croatia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Gospić massacre was the mass killing of 100–120 predominantly Serb civilians in Gospić, Croatia during the last two weeks of October 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The majority of the victims were ethnic Serbs arrested in Gospić and the nearby coastal town of Karlobag. Most of them were arrested on 16–17 October. Some of the detainees were taken to the Perušić barracks and executed in Lipova Glavica near the town, while others were shot in the Pazarište area of Gospić. The killings were ordered by the Secretary of Lika Crisis Headquarters, Tihomir Orešković, and the commander of the 118th Infantry Brigade of the Croatian National Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Mirko Norac.
Gospić massacre | |
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Part of the Croatian War of Independence | |
Location | Gospić, Croatia |
Date | 17–25 October 1991 |
Target | Predominantly Serb civilians |
Attack type | Summary executions |
Deaths | 100–120 |
Perpetrators | Elements of the 118th Brigade of the Croatian National Guard, Gospić city police, Croat paramilitaries |
The killings were publicised in 1997, when a wartime member of Autumn Rains paramilitary spoke about the unit's involvement in killings of civilians in Gospić in an interview to the Feral Tribune. No formal investigation was launched until 2000, after three former Croatian intelligence and military police officers informed the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia about the killings. Five, including Orešković and Norac, were arrested in 2001 and tried. Orešković, Norac and Stjepan Grandić were found guilty of the crime and sentenced to 14, 12 and 10 years in prison respectively in 2004.