ZEC: DEFENSE OF NORTHWESTERN BORDERS – KEY TO DEFENDING REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

NOVI GRAD, SEPTEMBER 18 /SRNA/ - General Momir Zec said that the defense of the northwestern borders of Republika Srpska in 1995 was crucial to the defense of Republika Srpska as a whole.

“The Croatian Army’s plans envisaged capturing Kozarska Dubica, Kostajnica, Novi Grad and Prijedor, and reaching the Vrbas River. If the people and the army had not defended themselves and trusted one another, it is impossible to say what the outcome would have been. The people trusted their army and did not abandon this area,” Zec said. Zec said that the enemy had sought to reach Kozara twice in the 20th century. “They succeeded in reaching Kozara during the Second World War, but they did not in 1995,” Zec said. He was commander of Operational Group 10 in 1995. Colonel Vlado Živković, then commander of the Prnjavor Brigade, said that one of the most significant battles was fought in September 1995. “I congratulate all the fighters who defended this area on the heroic defense of the western borders of Republika Srpska. I was on the Corridor when we were fighting for our lives, and I was here when we were fighting for Republika Srpska,” Živković said at the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the defense of the northwestern borders of Republika Srpska in September 1995. Major Momir Kovačević, then commander of the 1st Battalion of the Novi Grad Brigade, said that, despite the difficult situation, the brigade had managed to halt the attack by the Croatian Army and the attack by the so-called Army of BiH. “Coordinated action by the Novi Grad and Prnjavor brigades was crucial,” Kovačević added. Miroslav Drljača, the mayor of Novi Grad, said that even 31 years later, the defense of the northwestern borders of Republika Srpska is commemorated with mixed emotions, sadness for those who were killed and pride that the municipality was successfully defended. “The victory was a great one, and Republika Srpska was preserved. It is important that we preserve the memory of those days and our glorious history,” Drljača said. Organised by the Republika Srpska Government’s Committee for Preservation of the Tradition of Liberation Wars, the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the defense of the northwestern borders of Republika Srpska began with a memorial service at the monument to civilian victims in the Tunjica neighbourhood near Novi Grad. Following the memorial service, wreaths and flowers were laid, and candles were lit. The program continued at the central memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska in Novi Grad, where a memorial service was held, followed by the laying of wreaths and flowers and the lighting of candles. Officials then addressed those gathered. The Croatian Army attack on the municipality of Novi Grad began at 9:25 a.m. on September 18, 1995. During the two-day offensive, 57 people were killed: 37 civilians, 18 soldiers, and two members of the Ministry of the Interior; 17 civilians, three soldiers, and one member of the Ministry of the Interior were wounded. On September 19, 1995, members of the Army of Republika Srpska managed to push the Croatian Army back across the Una River.