Operation Prijedor 95 was the code name of the VRS operation to defend Prijedor. This was also one of the last battles of the Bosnian War. Goal of the ARBiH was to recapture the remaining parts of the Sanski Most municipality and advance north in to Prijedor capturing as much land as possible. ARBiH forces tried to capture Oštra Luka and then Prijedor, but in the process threatened the position of Sanski Most.[1][2]

Operation Prijedor 95'
Part of the Bosnian War
Date12 – 20 October 1995.
Location
Result

Army of Republika Srpska victory

Belligerents
 Republika Srpska Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Commanders and leaders
Republika Srpska Ratko Mladić
Republika Srpska Željko Ražnatović
Republika Srpska Radmilo Zeljaja
Atif Dudaković
Mehmed Alagić
Units involved

Army of Republika Srpska

Bosnia and Herzegovina 5th Corpus
Strength
Around 12,000 Around 15,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
1 Civilian killed, 18 injured

Timeline of Operation

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On October 12, 1995, the ceasefire entered into force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the commander of the 5th Corps of the ARBiH, General Atif Dudaković, ignored the truce and ordered his troops to continue the offensive and to occupy Prijedor and Banja Luka. under the attack of the 43rd Prijedor Motorized Brigade of the VRS, in the northeastern parts of Sanski Most.[3] Which forced the forces of the 5th Corps to suspend offensive actions and go on the defensive, where they defend Sanski Most from the counteroffensive of the VRS units for the next week.ARBiH forces suffered heavy losses on the line Koprivna — Ališići — Usorci, and there was a possibility that Sanski Most would fall under the control of Republika Srpska. From October 13 to 17, 64 shells were fired from the direction of Sanski Most towards the narrower part of the city of Prijedor, but without significant success. In that Muslim bombing, one person was killed and 18 were wounded. The fighting was suspended on October 20.[4]

Aftermath

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When the Dayton Agreement[5] map was completed. The part of the municipality of Sanski Most that remained in Serbian hands until the end of the war became its own municipality under the name of Oštra Luka.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 391. ISBN 9780160664724.
  2. ^ Christia, Fotini (2012). Alliance Formation in Civil Wars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-13985-175-6.
  3. ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 391. ISBN 9780160664724.
  4. ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, Volume 1. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 390. ISBN 9780160664724.
  5. ^ "Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia". US Department of State. 30 March 1996. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2006.
  6. ^ "B&H 2013 census - Oštra Luka Municipality". Retrieved August 31, 2020.