ŽARKOVIĆ: LIFE AND SURVIVAL STRUGGLE

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 15 /SRNA/ - The breakthrough of the corridor in 1992 was a fight for life and the survival of the Serb people in the western part of Republika Srpska and in the then Republika Srpska Krajina /RSK/, Krsta Žarković, commander of the Special Police Units of RSK, cited in SRNA statement.

Žarković, who took part in the corridor breakthrough, emphasized that this was the most important military operation for the survival of the Serb people in that area, recalling that the lives of the wounded in hospitals were in jeopardy at the time, and that 12 babies died in Banja Luka due to the blockade of the road to Serbia. According to him, RSK soldiers played a key role in the breakthrough of the corridor through Posavina. He noted that three tactical groups participated in the operation, one of which consisted of RSK police and army units. “The corridor breakthrough means life for the entire Serb people in this region. Had it not happened, Republika Srpska Krajina would have disappeared as early as 1992, and Republika Srpska would have been split in two and eventually wiped out,” Žarković stated. He noted that members of the Special Police Units and the Serb Army of Krajina took part in the operation, some of whom were killed, while others were lightly or seriously wounded. “My message to the younger generations in Republika Srpska is to preserve the memory of the fallen soldiers in the corridor battle, to be cautious, not to hate others, and to preserve the hard-won peace at all costs. They should contribute to the economic and overall development of Republika Srpska,” Žarković concluded. The Corridor 92 military operation lasted from June 14 to June 28, 1992, in the Posavina area. It was carried out by the forces of the First Krajina Corps, the East Bosnian Corps, and the police of Republika Srpska Krajina, under the command of General Momir Talić. According to the Republic Research Centre of War, War Crimes and Tracing Missing Persons of Republika Srpska, Corridor 92 Operation took lives of 877 members of the Republika Srpska Army, 15 members of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, and 17 members of the RSK Ministry of Interior. The direct cause of this military operation, considered the most heroic and humanitarian undertaking of the Republika Srpska Army, as the death of 12 babies in the Banjaluka maternity hospital due to a lack of oxygen.