Battle of Škabrnja (1991)

Battle of Škabrnja
Part of the Croatian War of Independence
Date 18–19 November 1991 Location Škabrnja, Croatia Result Yugoslav-SAO Krajina victory
Belligerents
Yugoslavia SAO Krajina	Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Ratko Mladić Momčilo Bogunović	Marko Miljanić
Units involved
Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav Ground Forces Krajina Territorial Defense Krajina Militia	Armed Forces of Croatia Croatian Army Croatian Police
Casualties and losses
4 killed, 10 wounded	15 killed
62 Croat civilians killed

The Battle of Škabrnja was a battle during the Croatian War of Independence that was fought on18th November, 1991. It was fought between Croatia, and SAO Krajina which was supported by the Yugoslav People's Army. The battle ended with a Serbian victory and the taking over of Škabrnja.

Timeline

The JNA, supported by SAO Krajina police and TO, as well as volunteers from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, attacked Škabrnja at 7:30 on the morning of 18 November, prompting much of the civilian population to flee. The overall commander of the operation was JNA Lieutenant Colonel Momčilo Bogunović of the 180th Motorised Brigade. The attacking force engaged in Škabrnja using tanks deployed to the northwest near the village of Zemunik Gornji, to the northeast near Smilčić and Gornje Biljane, as well as to the southeast along the road connecting Škabrnja and Benkovac. The initial attack involved 28 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and tanks, organized as one tank company, one mechanised company and two TO infantry companies.

A part of the force successfully advanced south from Smilčić and had captured the hamlet of Ambar located on the western approach to Škabrnja by 11:30. The HV was forced to retreat towards the centre of the village, but several troops and civilians who stayed behind in the hamlet were captured. Those who managed to pull out from Ambar reported killings of civilians by the JNA. The artillery bombardment of Škabrnja ceased at 12:30, but the Yugoslav Air Force targeted it with cluster bombs, and airlifted elements of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, based at the nearby Zadar Airport, to the outskirts of the village. At 13:30, the HV abandoned Ražovljeva Glavica and retreated to Škabrnja. Until 16:30, the attacking force kept advancing from Ambar towards the centre of Škabrnja using captured civilians and prisoners of war as human shields, until the HV salient was cut off from Zadar. The JNA reported that four of its troops were killed and eight were wounded that day, and paused its advance until the morning. Overnight, the commander of the Škabrnja Independent Battalion, Marko Miljanić, sneaked out of the village and went to Zadar to request reinforcements. Failing to receive any, he ordered the battalion to abandon the village by 6:00.

On the morning of 19 November, the JNA pressed on with its advance into the undefended eastern part of Škabrnja and reached Nadin from the west at 14:00. The Croats held out until the JNA captured Nadinska Kosa at 17:30. The SAO Krajina reported two wounded that day.

Killings

There was also the killing of 62 Croatian civilians and five prisoners of war by Serbian Autonomous Oblast Krajina (SAO Krajina) Territorial Defence troops and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in the villages of Škabrnja and Nadin east of Zadar on 18–19 November 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence. The massacre occurred shortly after an agreement to evacuate Zadar's JNA garrison following an increase in fighting between the Croatian National Guard (renamed the Croatian Army in November 1991) and the JNA. Most of the killings were committed by SAO Krajina troops which followed the leading armoured JNA units fighting their way into Škabrnja on 18 November. During the initial attack, the attacking force employed a human shield of captured civilians forced to walk in front of armoured vehicles. Most of the civilian population fled the village and about 120–130 were captured by the JNA and detained in the village school and kindergarten. However, others who took shelter in basements were killed in or just outside their homes. A portion of those killed in the massacre were buried in a mass grave in Škabrnja, while dozens of bodies were turned over to Croatian authorities.