Croatia marks the anniversary of Zagreb Rocket Attacks

The Zagreb rocket attacks were two rocket attacks conducted by the Army of the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina, in which rebel Serbs used multiple rocket launchers to strike the Croatian capital. It came in retaliation for the Serb’s humiliating defeat in Operation Flash, when Croatian forces liberated almost 560 square kilometers of territory in Western Slavonia occupied by rebel Serbs being backed by the Yugoslav People’s Army.

Thursday marks the 29th anniversary of the Zagreb Rocket attacks. On May 2nd and 3rd of 1995 Serb forces hit the capital with cluster bombs, killing seven civilians and wounding more than two hundred more. The attacks deliberately targeted civilian locations, which included the Klaičeva Children’s Hospital and the Croatian National Theater. Among those injured in the attacks Biserka Marchioli: "I have seventy percent disability. This is something that a person can never forget or get over. Regardless of the fact that that person from Serbia was found guilty, nothing can make up for what he did."

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević was on hand for today’s commemoration: "The Square of the May Victims was named as such because the most cluster munitions fell right here in Draškovič and Vlaška streets on this day 29 years ago. It is on us and future generations in Zagreb to honor this day and remember this horrific war crime, so that it never happens again."

Other cities were also targeted by the Serb forces, including Karlovac and Sisak. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) characterized the attack as a crime against humanity and convicted rebel Serb leader Milan Martić of ordering the attack.

Source: HRT