NUŽDIĆ: OPERATION CORRIDOR - QUESTION OF SURVIVAL FOR THE SERB PEOPLE WEST OF THE DRINA

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 20 /SRNA/ – Acting Director of the Republika Srpska Research Centre of War, War Crimes and Tracing Missing Persons Viktor Nuždić stated that the Republika Srpska Army’s operation Corridor, carried out 34 years ago, was not only a military operation but a matter of survival for the Serb people west of the Drina River.

Nuždić said that the Corridor represents a symbol of suffering, sacrifice, unity, and the unwavering will of the Serb people to survive. “Therefore, even today, more than three decades later, it remains for us the ‘corridor of life’. The sacrifice of Serb soldiers has been built into the foundations of Republika Srpska and the freedom we live today,” he said in a statement to SRNA on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of Operation Corridor 92. Nuždić stressed that the corridor battle meant salvation for thousands of families and a future for generations to come. He recalled that during 1992, life for Serbs in both Krajinas became almost impossible, as they were completely encircled, isolated, and cut off from Serbia, with shortages affecting every household as basic supplies could not reach the population. “The sick were dying while waiting for medical help that could not arrive. The greatest tragedy occurred in Banja Luka, where due to the ban on flights and the inability to transport oxygen, 12 newborn babies died in the Clinical Hospital Centre. OPERATION CORRIDOR PRODUCED LEGENDARY MILITARY COMMANDERS Nuždić said the Serb people paid an extremely high price for the corridor breakthrough, noting that according to the Republic Centre’s data, from the initial battle in early June to the end of the operation and the liberation of Brod in early October 1992, at least 898 soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army and the Republika Srpska Krajina Army were killed, while more than 2,000 were wounded. According to him Operation Corridor produced some of the most prominent military commanders in the region - Momir Talić, Novica Simić, Boško Kelečević, and Slavko Lisica -under whose leadership battles were fought that entered history as examples of courage, determination, and military skill. “The order of Veljko Milanković, commander of the Wolves of Vučjak, who instructed his troops to “Fix Bayonets!”, calling for close combat when the highest level of courage and sacrifice was required, takes special place,” Nuždić said. He further noted the role of Trivo Vujić, the commander of 327th Motorized Brigade, saying he demonstrated military honour, loyalty, and readiness to sacrifice his life for his people, will be remebered. “We must not forget our brothers from Republika Srpska Krajina. Shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers of Republika Srpska, they were an example of courage, brotherhood, and self-sacrifice in the Serb people’s struggle for freedom. Their sacrifice must not be pushed into oblivion, because they also built their lives into a victory that saved the people and ended their isolation,” Nuždić emphasized. To ensure the victims are never forgotten and the heroes of this historic victory remain permanently in the collective memory of the Serb people, the Republika Srpska Research Centre of War, War Crimes and Tracing Missing Persons took part in the production of the docudrama film “Corridor 922”, and published the book “Operation Corridor 92 – Testimonies of Heroes”. The military operation “Corridor 92” lasted from June 14 to June 28, 1992, in the Posavina region. It was carried out by forces of the First Krajina Corps, the East Bosnia Corps, and the police of Republika Srpska Krajina, and was commanded by General Momir Talić. The direct trigger for this military operation, which is the brightest and most humane wartime achievement of the Republika Srpska Army, was the death of 12 newborn babies in the Banja Luka maternity hospital due to a lack of oxygen. Tomorrow, at Duga Njiva near Modriča, the 34th anniversary of the breakthrough of the corridor through Posavina, one of the most important battles of the Republika Srpska Army in the Defensive-Patriotic War, will be marked.