On August 4, 1995, military and police forces of the Republic of Croatia launched a military and police action throughout the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) during and after which they committed serious violations of international war and humanitarian law provisions, especially those concerning protection of civilians, non-military facilities, cultural property, etc. The scale and forms of violations of international war and humanitarian law provisions committed by Croatian military and police forces are still subject to investigation and documentation carried out by the Committee, non-governmental organizations and UN organs.

Information gathered so far, as well as systematicity, manner, conception of the plan, goal and consequences resulting from the Croatian actions (250.000 Serbs abandoned their homes while around 5.000 remained), give reasonable grounds to claim that numerous criminal acts of genocide have been committed by Croatian military and police troops against Serbs in Krajina, who had lived there for centuries.

In fact, the attack launched against Krajina made irrelevant the status of the UNPA Sectors South and North (Krajina) in the same way as it invalidated, in the previous case, the status of Sector West (Western Slavonia) - thus breaching the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities of August 29, 1995, reached under the auspices of the UNO, UN second resolution, Vance plan, etc.

Prior to the attack launched against Krajina on August 4, 1995, standing Croatian Army operated for months from the territory of the internationally recognized B&H, conducting artillery and shelling attacks against Serb towns of Glamoč and Grahovo, aiming at civilian targets, destroying houses and other facilities, and making civilians take to flight.

The offensive against Krajina was launched from a number of directions in a planned way - from the occupied towns of Grahovo and Glamoč, from Petrinja - to Glina and from Ogulin - to Saborsko. En route toward Bihać, the members of the Croatian Army and police conducted combat operations in coordination with the members of the 5th Corps of the Moslem Army. Several tens of thousands of artillery shells were indiscriminately fired. Also, helicopter-borne assault groups were engaged and supported by members of the Ministry of Interior Special Forces and a large number of Croatian Army guards brigades.

Damage inflicted on civilian facilities and civilian casualties (shelling, etc.), arising as a consequence of the offensive launched against Krajina on August 4 and 5, 1995, has not yet been assessed because of the quick seizure of Krajina and difficulties caused by inaccessibility to the spot, after the withdrawal of the Serb army and civilians from Krajina and denial of access, in the first days of aggression, even to the UN organs themselves and others. Neither the extent of civilian casualties (killings by shelling and in other ways) nor the extent of destruction of civilian facilities, churches, cultural and historical treasures, etc., has been estimated yet. Nevertheless evidence gathered so far, reports of non-governmental, international and other organization, as well as other information indicate that several thousands of Serbs were killed or reported as missing during and after the attack launched against RSK.

There is, however, much more available evidence and information concerning attacks conducted by Croatian Army troops against civilian refugee columns heading toward the territory of the Republic of Srpska (RS), i.e., FR Yugoslavia. Refugee columns were fired at from artillery weapons, bombarded by aircraft and ambushed by infantry units at certain locations. The facts concerning the whereabouts of a part of the convoy from the areas of Glina and Banija, at the location of Lonjsko Field nearby Sisak, driving down the high-way toward Belgrade, have not been established yet.

Immediately following the accomplishment of military operations, members of the Croatian Army and police forces committed (and continue to commit) serious violations of humanitarian and war law in the course of the so-called cleansing actions carried out throughout Serb villages. Systematic looting, burning of houses and killing of remaining civilians (mainly elderly people who did not want to or could not depart) were being conducted (and are being conducted) and traces of crimes removed. Croatian soldiers or policemen took an undetermined number of persons to the camps located in Split, Zadar, Šibenik, Karlovac, Kutina, Gospić, Ivanić Grad and elsewhere. Representatives of international humanitarian organizations have been denied access to some of those camps.

Nearly 1,000 Serb civilians, mainly the elderly, women and children, took refuge in UNPROFOR headquarters compound in Knin, asking for safe passage to the RS, FR Yugoslavia or other states. Upon the demand of the Croatian authorities, UN representatives in Knin transferred 40 persons who allegedly committed war crimes to the Croatian custody. Having learned of the fate which befell their relatives and neighbours, as well as their homes, the remaining Serbs who had sought shelter in UNPROFOR compound in Knin refused to stay in Krajina and came to FR Yugoslavia.

The offensive launched against Krajina is a continuation of Croatian policy and action concerning ethnic cleansing of Serbs on the part of the "internationally" recognized Croatia. Prior to military and police operations carried out in 1991 - Medak Pocket, Miljevački Plateau, Maslenica, Western Slavonija, Krajina - Serbs had been subjected to deliberate and lasting intimidation and various forms of pressures, including killings. Since then, over 500,000 Serbs were forcibly expelled from Croatia.

Following forceful secession, 2-3% of Serbs remained in Croatia, which indicates a drop of around 9% percent as contrasted with 12% of Serb population living in Croatia before the outbreak of civil war. Meanwhile, Croatia gradually adapts its legal system in the field of human rights to the newly emerged ethnic composition thus "legalizing" ethnic cleansing unprecedented in the contemporary world.

Massive killings of civilians without any military justification took place while the military operation was ongoing in Krajina, even though it is well known that Croatia¢ s offensive did not encounter much resistance by Krajina Serb forces. By the end of August, shelling of refugee columns resulted in apparent consequences, especially in the Glina area, on the Glina-Dvor road and other areas in Croatia and RS through which refugees passed. It took members of the Croatian police quite a while to remove scattered things and belongings of the killed and wounded Serb refugees.

Concerning consequences of shelling of refugee columns there are reports of mass graves located in the municipality of Slunj, as well as of killings resulting in at least 80 dead Serb civilians from the column and from other parts of the Glina area and elsewhere.

Fleeing civilians were killed by shelling of the Croatian Army whose members ambushed the column and attacked it in coordination with the 5th Corps of the Moslem Army.

Registered criminal acts of war crimes which include killing of civilians read as follows:

On August 5, 1995, a group of twenty Serb civilians was driving on a truck in the direction of the village of Kovačići and further on, toward the UNCRO compound. At the village of Kovačići, a group of Croatian Army troops opened fire at the truck and killed three persons: Nikola Dragičević, Jovo Andić and Pero Bilbija from the village of Polače. On the same occasion, a bullet fired from the gun of a Croatian Army soldier hit the hand of Mara Dragičević, wife of the killed Nikola, amputating off her hand a number of fingers. Croatian soldiers left three other wounded persons laying on the street. Croatian soldiers arrested the survivors from the truck.

On August 5, around 10.00 hours, 13 Serb civilians were on the trailer being pulled by a tractor near the place called Vrbnik. Croatian soldiers stopped them and ordered Živko Stojakov and his girl-friend to climb out of the trailer. Stojakov was unarmed and was not in the military service in Krajina. As soon as they got out, one of the Croatian soldiers fired at him all the bullets from the cartridge clip of his automatic rifle, shooting him to death. They threatened to rape the girl-friend of the killed. After several hours, they dropped her off at the UNCRO compound in Knin. The fate of the remaining 11 civilians from the tractor trailer is unknown. They were not seen at the UNCRO compound.

On August 5, during artillery shelling of Knin, Nenad Duković and his wife Nedeljka Duković, from Knin with a 45 day-old baby and Nedeljka¢ s brother Dragan Mirković, found shelter in a skyscraper. Next morning, Croatian soldiers found them They took away Nenad and Dragan Mirković while Nedeljka with her baby was taken to the UNCRO compound. Since then, Nedeljka knows nothing about the whereabouts of her husband and brother. Also, their names do not appear either on any of the lists given by Croatian authorities to the UN or on the lists of displaced persons.

On August 6, a person who was provided refuge in UNCRO compound in Knin informed the representatives of the Helsinki International Federation that he saw 20 dead bodies, including women and children, along the Kralja Petra Street in Knin.

On August 6, Đuro Borojević, father¢ s name Ljuban, from the village of Borojević, municipality of Kostajnica, was killed in front of his house. His estate was set to fire. Miloš Borojević, father¢ s name Nikola, born in 1948, from the same village was also killed. Miloš Borojević was slaughtered and his body set to fire together with his house.

On August 6, Luka Dobra and his wife Milica Dobra, 91 and 89 years of age, from the village of Prukljen, were killed and their bodies set to fire together with their house.

On August 6 and 7, Croatian Air Force bombarded refugee columns in the territory of the Republic of Srpska. As a result 10 persons were killed and 50 were wounded at the place called Petrovac (Memorandum of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that there exists TV footage attesting to that crime). Croatian MiG-21 aircraft were also engaged in bombardment of the refugee column moving along the road Novi Grad-Prijedor. On this occasion, an old woman Marta Galagoža from Vrginmost was killed and her disabled son Rade Galagoža was wounded. Also, three other person were wounded, including two children.

August 6-8: In the village of Joševci nearby Glina, the body of an elderly man was found. His head and both his arms were severed from his body. Remains of at least four persons burnt to death were found in the barn. Two of them were identified as Cvijo Matijević and his wife Desanka Matijević.

August 6-9: On the road from Jabukovac to Kostajnica, in a ravine beneath the hamlet of Donja Pastruša, some 30 demolished tractors were found (which transported at least one hundred refugees), exhibiting traces of bullet holes. It is claimed that these people were killed from an elevation called Žilić by the Home Guardsmen Battalion from Slunj and 2nd Guards Brigade of the Croatian Army.

August 6-8: At least ten civilians were killed at Veljun, between Slunj and Karlovac.

August 6-8: In the village of Dobropoljci nearby Benkovac, while rounding up civilians to be taken to collection centres, Croatian soldiers killed Petar Šaponja, father¢ s name Tomo, because he had instinctively turned his head when ordered to lie down on the ground.

On an unspecified day in August, in the village of Oton nearby Knin, Croatian soldiers asked a Serb man to slaughter a calf for them. While he was doing it, he heard an automatic rifle burst. The soldiers killed his mother, born in 1906.

On August 8, five elderly and helpless persons were killed in Dvor na Uni.

On August 9, on the road from Glina to Dvor na Uni, at the place called Trgovi, a refugee column was ambushed and attacked by infantry forces. One person was killed while the witness was wounded in the arm.

On August 9 or 10, in Jašovica nearby Petrinja, Slavko Stupar, about 60 years old, was killed. His throat was first slit, then he was finished off with an axe and burnt. In addition to him, another 10 Serbs were killed in the same place.

On August 9 or 10, in the place called Donji Hrastovac nearby Sisak, Stevo Božić, 70 years old, was killed.

On August 10, not far from Knin, an old man was killed an hour after he had been visited and seen alive by UN police. It was established that he was shot in the back of the head.

On August 11, the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM) Team found a male corpse in the village of Golubić. The man was shot in the back of the head and in the right side of the body.

On August 12 or 21, in the village of Komić nearby Udbine, Mara Ugarković, born in 1921, immobile, was burnt to death in her house, as well as Petar Lavrnić, born in 1933, and his mother Sava, born in 1903. In the same village, Mika Pavlica, born in 1904, was also killed in front of her house, nearby school, and then burnt. In the hamlet of Poljice, Boja Mirković was killed. Witnesses also claim to have seen the corpse of Staka Ćurčić, about 80 years old, in the vicinity of her house. Later, the witness heard that two elderly men Rade Sunajko, born in 1909, and Mika Sunajko, born in 1912, were killed in the hamlet of Poljice.

On August 16, the UN Human Rights Team found four bodies in the village of Žagrović nearby Knin. Three of them had bullet holes in their heads, while the fourth was too decomposed to identify either sex or cause of death. The killed persons were about 50 years of age. One of the persons had three of his fingers amputated off one hand. In response to the question of the UN representatives concerning discoveries of corpses, general Čermak replied that there were probably 200-300 bodies in the hills with bullet holes in their heads.

On August 16, three dead bodies of Serb civilians were found in the village of Zvijerinac.

On August 16, in the village of Svinjica, two unidentified dead bodies of civilians were found, while four persons (Dejan Malbaša, father¢ s name Jovo, Bogdan Vukelić, father¢ s name Milan, Dušan Grba and Nikola Milaković) are being kept on the list of missing persons. All of them were first arrested.

August 17-19: Croatian general Čermak gave the International Helsinki Federation Mission to the Krajina lists (4 lists concerning period August 6-13) which he claimed contained information on the alleged bodies interred in the mass grave in Knin. After studying the documents, mission members found out that lists, made by Croatian police of Šibenik district, contained data on 104 bodies of civilians, some of which were and some were not identified. They also found that it was not true that all those persons were buried in Knin cemetery. From the list they determined that those were civilian bodies (lists also contained data on military) which were found by Croatian authorities in Strnica, Kosovo, on the Gračac-Otrić road, Otrić, Žegar, Knin cemetery (according to the list, 41 civilians were buried in Knin cemetery), Knin hospital, Biljane Gornje, Donji Srb, on the Srb-Donji Lapac road, in the woods near Srb, Bruvno, Mazin, Podgrade, Buković, Golubić, Kovačići, Plitvice, Ličko Petrovo Selo, Udbina, on the Kakma-Polače, Čista Mala, Kričke, Ivoševci, Frkašić, Biočine, Donji Lapac, Bjelini, Žitnić, Drniš, etc. According to data contained in the lists, 31 civilians were buried in Zadar cemetery, 3 civilians in Korenica cemetery, 16 civilians in Gračac cemetery. No burial place is given for 12 civilians. Croatian authorities told the mission that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had participated in all the phases of the process of identification and burial of civilians killed in the attack conducted by Croatian Army. Upon checking whether that claim was correct with the ICRC, it was found out that it was not true.

On August 17, in Daruvar, an unidentified person threw a hand grenade at the house of a Serb resulting in his death.

On August 18, in the village of Hristovac Gornji, the body of Mile Stojković was found.

On August 18, in the village of Kakanj, south of Knin, two persons were killed by Croatian soldiers.

On August 21, in the village of Bijeli Klanac nearby Krnjak, members of the Matijević family who were trying to find out what had happened to their relatives Cvija Matijević and Desanka Matijević, both about 65 years old, found in their house in the village two partially burnt bodies. They also saw at least two more partially burnt bodies close by the house. The same group also saw the body of a 10 year-old child. The body was badly decomposed and partially eaten by animals.

On August 25, in the village of Grubori, 5 corpses were found. Among them were the bodies of Miloš Grubor, born in 1915 - shot with two bullets in the back of the head; Jovo Grubor, 65 years old - killed in the field while watching over cows grazing there; Marija Grubor, 90 years old - burnt in the house; Milka Grubor, 51 years old - killed nearby her house; and Đuro Karanović, 45 years old. Crimes were committed by the regular units of the Croatian Army.

On August 27, in the village of Gošić nearby Đevrska, eight Serb civilians were killed, all about 70 years old, out of which seven were bearing the same surname Borak. The following persons were killed: 1) Savo Borak, 2) Vasilj Borak, 3) Grozdana Borak, 4) Marija Borak, 5) Kosa Borak, 6) Milka Borak, 7) Dušan Borak, and 8) Joko Mažibrada. All the killed persons were secretly buried in Knin cemetery, under ordinal numbers from 550th to 554th, without marks bearing their names and surnames. Croatian Ministry of Interior refused to hand over the bodies of the killed to their relatives so as to hide committed war crimes.

By the end of August, the remains of five persons were found in the village of Golubić.

By the end of August, bodies of two killed men were found in the village of Radasnica. The head of one of the victims was thrown some 50 meters away from the body.

On September 11, in Knin, the ECMM Team found the bodies of two elderly women who were shot in their heads.

On September 12, in Knin, the body of a Serb man, who had been previously maltreated by Croatian soldiers was found.

On September 18, in the Mokro Polje area, Croatian soldiers broke into the house of an old Serb woman (82). One of them killed her by simultaneously shooting her in the mouth and stabbing her in the chest.

On September 24, the son reported to the Kistanje police that his 85 years old father was missing from the village of Kakanj where he had lived. Later, he found his father¢ s body in the well. The victim called Dušan Šarić was brought humanitarian aid by the International Red Cross activists on September 18.

Special report of the ECMM of September 1995, classified as "confidential", inter alia, states: "there are numerous reports of killings of Serbs, especially in the Knin area where at one time five to six bodies were being discovered every day. A common murder method was slit throat or shots in the back of the head ... there exist numerous indications that killings are taking place. However, it is difficult to gain access to the area and conduct on-site investigations to find out what has actually happened. On August 10, the ECMM Team from Knin tried to find out and establish facts relating to persistent rumours about Croatian Army burning corpses in a church in Knin. Access was denied ... On August 29, the ECMM Team visited mass graves in Gračac and counted 71 graves ... There are still many Serbs whose whereabouts are unknown and the ECMM Team is gathering names of the missing persons..."

On September 28, in the village of Varivode nearby Kistanje, nine Serb civilians, from 60 to 85 years of age, were killed at their doorsteps. Their bodies were mutilated and disfigured. The murderers wore Croatian Army uniforms.

On September 29, in Kistanje, an old woman (80) was found dead in her looted house. She was killed by Croatian soldiers.

On September 29, in the village of Zrmanja Vrelo, a 50-year old Serb was killed as follows: four armed Croatian soldiers burst into his house where he had been with his mother; they woke him up, put the rifle barrel to his neck, took him out to the nearby forest and killed him by firing four bullets at his chest.

By the end of September 1995, in hamlets nearby Zrmanja, the following murders were committed: Milan Marčetić, 47 years of age, was killed in the hamlet of Gudura and Dušan Šujica, 72 years of age, was killed in the hamlet of Milanovica - Milan Marčetić and Dušan Šujica were killed by some ten members of the Croatian Army, who wore bullet-proof vests. Vlado Milanović, 50 years of age, Boro Marčetić and Gojko Komazec, 57 years of age, were also killed in Milanovica. On the day of murder, Gojko Komazec was seen at the police station in Gračac. His body was found with three bullet wounds in his stomach. Čanak Đuro, 80 years of age, was killed in the hamlet of Čanci - his son was killed as a Croatian guardsman. Vujanović Marta, 89 years of age, was also killed in Čanci. Vujanović Marta, 87 years of age, was killed in Oton Polje and Dušan Brkić was killed in Palanka.

By the end of September, in the village of Brdo nearby Vojnić, Croatian soldiers killed Stanka Grudić Rajić, and in Ploče nearby Gradačac Milka Banjeglav. First she had been scalped and then killed.

By the end of September, Đura Mandić from Tomin Gaj nearby Gračac was killed after being tortured - his arms and his head were cut off. Upon identification, Ministry of Interior did not allow his relatives to bury him.

From the beginning of Croatian offensive against Krajina to November 1996, UN representatives in Krajina found 1,000 grave-sites in the former Sector South. It was not specified whether civilians or military were buried at those sites and buried persons were not identified by names. It was stated that some of the graves contained even up to 7 Serb bodies.

Croatian Helsinki Committee issued public statements (by the beginning of November 1995) claiming that it had identified the existence of 715 tombs with crosses by the beginning of November 1995: 21 in Korenica, 6 in Vrlika, 6 in Mandići, 8 in Vodoteče, 77 in Dvor, 142 in Petrinja, 14 in Mali Sas, 38 in Glina, 7 in Gornja Oraovica, 2 in Krbavica, 15 in Miklunanušiću, 5 in Karamarkovići, 2 in Poljana, 5 in Ostojići and 4 in Vranjići. The number of buried bodies in those graves is unknown because Croatian authorities do not allow on-site investigations of graves for which they themselves claim to contain Serb bodies. There are mass graves in Gračac. The Croatian Helsinki Committee states that 59 Serbs, killed by the beginning of the month, and 81 Serbs, killed by the end of the month, were buried in Gračac cemetery in August. By the beginning of October, 124 Serbs were buried in the same cemetery. Also, by the end of October another 156 Serbs were buried in the same cemetery. On November 1, 247 new tombs with crosses appeared.

By the end of September, in the village of Štikovo, Croatian soldiers killed 246 residents, looting and burning the village. Only five Štikovo residents managed to escape death.

Upon completion of the military and police action and capture of Krajina, Croatian authorities undertook (and continue to undertake) systematic measures to search the terrain. In addition to killing of civilians, all the remaining Serb houses and estates were being looted, burnt down or demolished and livestock was being taken away. The remaining civilians, mainly the elderly, were being taken to camps where they were being subjected to interrogations, torture, maltreatment and most versatile forms of pressures. In the afore-mentioned "confidential" report of the ECMM, which is concerned with violations of human rights regarding Serbs and Serb property after the military action of August, it is stated, inter alia, that "long after the cessation of military operations, practically all the houses were totally pillaged and many of them completely burnt down..." It is also said as follows:

"In some cases it is difficult to separate ¢ looting¢ from ¢ burning¢ because it is usually carried out in combination. Illegal taking over of property in the form of real estate throughout the captured territory is being carried out with (tacit) consent of the highest Croatian authorities. Looting includes taking away of either alive or killed cattle. Croatian Army units, individuals and citizens bear responsibility for occurrence of most of those incidents."

"Widespread destruction, carried out mainly through burning down of rural areas and most of the small villages, is alarming. As a result, Serbs are actually prevented from returning to their homes. In the Sector South, most of the property is partially or totally demolished. The small town of Kistanje is completely destroyed."

According to numerous successive reports of other international organizations, as well as other available information, it is evident that acts of demolition and burning occurred:

• On two separate occasions on or around August 17-18, in the area between Knin and Drniš, where along the 18 km long road 45 Serb houses were burning, UN observers saw arson teams. One arson team wearing military camouflage was operating an antitank gun and firing incendiary rounds into houses in the Buljaš area, between Knin and Drniš.
• South of Drniš to Knin and the surrounding area around Knin, there are hundreds of buildings that have been burnt and looted.
• Upon completion of military operations, Knin was systematically and completely looted. Looting was carried out by the 4th and 7th brigades of Croatian Army that entered the town first. The second wave of looters was comprised of Civilian Police and Military Police units. The UN military observer team in Knin revealed that 21 buildings were heavily damaged.
• Two boxes of PMA-2R, antipersonnel mines that are used for mining roadsides and houses were found in Ivoševci. In the vicinity, mission members saw four members of Croatian Special Police. Most of the buildings were damaged in varying degrees by burning and looting.
• Kistanje was completely looted and burnt. The only undamaged building was the Orthodox church. According to the mission opinion, the church was deliberately left undamaged. School and post office buildings were destroyed. On August 17, a group of four Croatian soldiers was seen moving in and around buildings. While the mission was still in Kistanje, smoke began pouring out from behind buildings on the main street that goes toward Knin.
• The following towns of Banija and Kordun were destroyed during and after military action: Glina, Petrinja and Topusko, while the villages of Dugo Selo, Trepča, Kirinje, Katinovac, Grmuša, Staro Selo, Bović, etc., were burnt down after the military action.
• Seventy per cent of the village of Donji Lapac was destroyed, whereas the villages of Siverić, Kosovo, Vrbnik, Radučić, Kričke, Ivoševci and Žagrović were substantially damaged. Marks bearing the names of the villages were removed from many sites.
• The village of Srb was completely burnt and pillaged.
• According to the statement given by UN spokesman on September 27, 1995, 73% of the houses was burnt in 240 villages in former Sector South.
• Each house in the village of Frkašić nearby Korenica was looted, and vandalized. Houses were burnt at Debelo Brdo. Hundreds of houses along the Srb-Otrić section went up in flames. In Sector North houses at Javnić, Kosna, Donji Žirovac, Bruvno, Gornji Klasnić and Paukovac were destroyed.
• According to a statement of the Force Commander for Sector South, A. Forrand on October 12, 1995, they had visited 389 villages and established that 16,578 Serb houses had been burnt down or severely damaged.

Upon the capture of Krajina, Croatian authorities arrested sizebale numbers of persons and took them to schools and sports halls turned into camps. The number of the arrested remaining Serbs is unknown. Major detention centres were at Zadar, Šibenik, Split, Knin, Sisak, Karlovac, Kutina, Gospić, Novska, Ivanić Grad and Sinj. Prisoners were subjected to torture and inhuman treatment in those places of detention.

Croatian authorities held captive over 750 Serbs who had taken shelter in UNPROFOR compound in Knin, persistently demanding that "war criminals" be transferred to them without providing any concrete data on wanted persons. The elderly and children aged from 1 to 14 comprised the majority of the persons held there.

Presently, six hundred persons, out of seven hundred in UNPROFOR compound in Knin, have declared that they want to leave Croatia (which they did later on). From their experience they believe that the Croatian Army will not protect them. Upon their subsequent arrival to Serbia, they avoided talking about their experiences either because they were afraid for their relatives who remained in Croatia or their uncertain future status.

There were cases in which captured Serbs were used as a human shield. (For instance, 11 persons from the Retarded Persons Home nearby Topusko.) Later, UNPROFOR members found a number of the bodies of the killed, among which one in a wheelchair.

The mentioned confidential report of the ECMM informs of individual cases of maltreatment and inhuman treatment. In UNCRO compound for Sector South, the observer team talked to an old Serb man from Markovac who had been severely beaten up by Croatian soldiers. An old woman (81) from the same village was beaten with a rifle butt by Croatian soldiers. They put her against the wall and fired bullets around her head. Four other men were verbally insulted by Croatian soldiers. One of them was beaten up twice - once when he showed them his Croatian citizenship paper.

In former Sector West, captured by Croats after the aggression launched on August 21 and 22, Croats driving their cars with "checkered" symbols insulted and maltreated Serbs in two small villages south of Pakrac. Some of them entered Serb houses and intimidated them.

On August 10, at Vrginmost, a group of Croats beat up 17 Serb refugees (13 men and 4 women). UN representatives were prevented from intervening.

During the passage of a Serb refugee column through Sisak on August 7, Croat civilians took Serbs out from the column and beat them up, smashed their cars, showered them with stones and rubbish and looted their personal effects, with open consent of Croatian police securing the passage of the column.

As a result of looting, demolition of homes and destruction of households which took place during and after Croatian military offensive, Serbs were forced to abandon their ancestral land, where they had managed to preserve their specific culture in the midst of Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church. Serbs were forced to abandon all their sacred values - churches and monasteries, museums, historical monuments, treasures of their cultural and artistic heritage, as well as the graves of their ancestors. They left a total of around 950 monuments of culture, 80 libraries and over 122 schools.

The fate of the of the Krka Monastery and Krupa Monastery (allegedly set on fire and grazed to the ground with its fresco-paintings), as well as of other monasteries, dating back to the earliest times of Serb settlements in that region, is not known. According to the insufficiently verified data, the artistic treasure of the Krka Monastery (which dates back to the 14th century) was looted, as well as 43 Orthodox churches in the areas of Bukovice and Ravni Kotari, including other parts of Krajina as well. The Dalmatian Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) practically does not exist any longer.

Immediately after launching the military and police offensives against Western Slavonia and Krajina, Croatia went on to legalize the newly emerged internal situation following the expulsion of the Serbs from their ethnic areas. On September 21, 1995, Croatia adopted a Law on the temporary take over and administration of specific property, whereby it, in effect, confiscated all real estate from expelled Serbs, as well as from all other persons who did not have Croatian citizenship. Also, the eventual return of Serbs does not appear feasible with the institution of almost insurmountable bureaucratic measures, such as the possession of documents (Croatian citizenship papers, identity cards, birth certificates, right of ownership certificates) which cannot be obtained given the prescribed time limits.

Simultaneously, in numerous legal proceedings Serbs are being charged with rebellion and war crimes and sentences are being pronounced without the right to adequate legal representation.

Since the beginning of the forcible secession from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatian authorities, guided by plans and programmes of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) headed by Dr. Franjo Tuđman, subjected Serb people to intolerable living conditions. By exerting most versatile and systematic pressures and killings, Croatian authorities forced Serbs to abandon their villages and towns.

By conducting military operations, mass killings and expulsions in the civil war, Croatian authorities committed crime of genocide against Serbs, eradicating all traces of their life in those parts where they had comprised majority before the outbreak of the conflict. (Examples of Medak Pocket, Miljevački Plateau, Ravni Kotari, Mirlović Field, Maslenica, Western Slavonija, Krajina, etc.)

The cases of mass liquidation of Serbs in Gospić and Pakračka Field, murdering of the Zec family in Zagreb, demolition of Serb-owned objects in Zadar and their expulsion, mass discharges from their jobs due to their "disloyalty" and numerous other examples throughout Croatia, also make constituent components of a planned strategy carried out against Serbs in Croatia designed to change the ethnic composition and to reduce their share below three per cent in the total number of the population in Croatia.