Operation Bosanska Krajina

Operation Bosanska Krajina was the code name of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) offensive during the Bosnian War which aimed to capture the municipalities of Prijedor, Sanski Most and Ključ. The offensive was also the response of the VRS to the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) attack on the city of Prijedor. The operation ended with the victory of the VRS and the beginning of the siege of Bihać.

Operation Bosanska Krajina
Part of the Bosnian War
Date 25, May—11, June 1992 Location Prijedor, Ključ, Sanski Most, Bosnian Krajina, Bosnia and Herzegovina Result Army of Republika Srpska victory The VRS capture Prijedor, Ključ and Sanski Most ARBiH Retreats after suffering losses Siege of Bihać Starts
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Pero Čolić Ratko Mladić	Arif Hukanović Izet Nanić
Strength
12.000 - 15.000	7.000 - 10.000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Heavy
53 Bosnian Civilians Killed in Prhovo

The Operation

At the end of May - beginning of June, the Serbs had to carry out a difficult operation in Sanski Most and the Muslim villages around Ključ. The goal was to use preventive military measures to neutralize possible partisan activity of Muslims in Bosnian Krajina and to secure the largest city of Republika Srpska - Banja Luka. On May 25, units of the 6th Sanska (former 6th Partisan) Brigade began shelling the suburbs of Sanski Most with mortars. The next day, the Serbs began a search for weapons, simultaneously separating all the soldiers. Women, old people and children were sent to the territory under the control of Muslim forces, and most of the men were taken to camps in the area of Prijedor. At the same time, two battalions of the 6th Sanska, a battalion of the 13th Partisan and a battalion of the 2nd Engineer Regiment began to clear the villages north and northwest of the town of Ključ. Their population was also expelled from the borders of the Republika Srpska, or placed in concentration camps, in order to be further sent to Muslim territory. The ARBiH attack began at 4:00 a.m. on May 30. Muslim forces attacked a hotel used by the Serbs as a barracks, a public security unit, a radio station and an administration building in Prijedor . After the defense of Prijedor, the VRS reacted quickly and launched a counterattack, occupying the settlements around Prijedor. In some settlements, there was a brief resistance by members of the BiH Army who attacked Prijedor a few days ago, but the VRS defeated them. The VRS continues its offensive south of Prijedor. On June 1, 1992, tragic events took place in the village of Prhovo, 7 km northeast of Ključ. A Serbian detachment (supposedly volunteers who were part of the Sixth Infantry Brigade) carried out the usual operation to uncover secret weapons caches. At first, the soldiers behaved rudely towards the residents. Then a shooting began in which 53 civilians were killed,  including women and children. At the beginning of the war, such crimes were committed by all sides in the conflict, because many armed groups consisted of poorly controlled, undisciplined soldiers, with little understanding of the modern rules of warfare. In the summer and fall of 1992, the Serbian military-political leadership undertook a series of measures to improve discipline. Several hundred Muslims and Croats took refuge in the forests of Majdanski brdo, between Prijedor and Sanski Most. Most of them were civilians, but among them there were remnants of units of the Patriotic League, including those who participated in the attack on Prijedor. They launched partisan actions against Serbian patrols and small garrisons. With that, the Serbian army moved on to a decisive operation to clean up Bosanska Krajina. According to the cleaning plan, the 5th partisan brigade under the command of Major Pero Čolić, reinforced by the battalion of the 43rd Prijedor Motorized Brigade, was supposed to move from Prijedor to the south, in the direction of Stara Rijeka . Here, the soldiers under the command of Čolić were supposed to link up with the units of the 6th San Brigade, which is advancing from the south and is fighting a battle in Sanski Most against ARBiH rebels and snipers. The operation began on July 20. In the course of it, Serbian troops defeated several small guerilla groups. Imprisoned civilians were sent to refugee camps for further transfer to territory under the control of Muslim-Croatian forces. The operation to clear the Majdanska mountain was the last such action, in which the army also took part. The police were later in charge of breaking up small groups of Patriotic League militants in the forests. The VRS repels the ARBiH forces all the way to Bihać. This is where the operation ended and the Siege of Bihać (1992–1995) began.