FAILURE OF THE CROATIAN-MUSLIM OPERATION UNA

BIJELJINA, September 17 /SRNA/ - In the early hours of September 18, 1995, the regular Croatian Army, with the support of Muslim units, launched a fierce, coordinated offensive against Novi Grad, Kostajnica, and Kozarska Dubica, but, by the following day, the assault had collapsed, ending in defeat for the aggressor forces.

More than 3,000 shells fell on Kozarska Dubica alone. The operation also involved units of the so-called Army of BiH, which advanced toward Sanski Most and Novi Grad, where Croatian forces had established one of their bridgeheads. However, they were met by 14,000 soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska, reinforced by 2,000 volunteers from Serbia. The Operation Una, as the joint Croatian-Muslim offensive was named, aimed to seize the Pounje region by crossing the Una and Sava rivers, establishing bridgeheads in Novi Grad, Kozarska Dubica, and Srpska Kostajnica opposite Jasenovac, thereby opening the way for a subsequent push toward Prijedor and Banjaluka. The plan was drawn up only hours after a meeting between then-Croatian President Franjo Tuđman and US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, during which Holbrooke urged Tuđman to intensify pressure on the Pounje region and threaten Banjaluka in order to force the Republika Srpska leadership into negotiations. Kozarska Dubica, Kostajnica, and Novi Grad suffered heavy destruction. A total of 104 people were killed - 54 civilians, 44 soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska, and six members of the Ministry of Interior. As a result, a lawsuit was filed against Croatia. To this day, no one has been held accountable for these crimes and devastation. According to municipal damage assessment commissions, material losses were estimated at BAM 83.3 million in Novi Grad, BAM 50.4 million in Kozarska Dubica, and BAM 40 million in Kostajnica. Near the TIK Knežopoljka factory in Kozarska Dubica, 13 Croatian soldiers of the "Black Mambas" sabotage unit of the 2nd Guards Brigade were killed. After the defeat, Croatia officially refused to recover their bodies. After the war, Croatian General Janko Bobetko estimated the losses of the Croatian Army at over 70 dead and 250 wounded. Official Croatian sources put the figure at 50 soldiers killed or missing during the operation.