The High Court of Belgrade has commenced the war crimes trial of four Croatian Air Force pilots, who are accused of launching rockets at Serbian refugee columns back in August 1995.
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The trial of four Croatian Air Force pilots accused of firing rockets at Serb refugee columns on a road near Bosanski Petrovac and Bosnia and Herzegovina commenced on Friday at the War Crimes Department of the High Court of Belgrade.
The pilots will be tried in absentia since they have not been available to Serbian judicial authorities since the initiation of the investigation in 2021.
Zdenko Radulj, 70, Željko Jelenić, 69, Vladimir Mikac, 68, and Danijel Borović, 65, are accused by Serbia of firing rockets at the refugee convoys from the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) on the Petrovac and Prijedor roads on 7 and 8 August 1995.
The shelling resulted in the deaths of 13 people, including six children under the age of 13, and left about two dozen others wounded.
The shellings were part of “Operation Storm,” which occurred during the Croatian War of Independence, spanning from March 1991 to November 1995.
The conflict was triggered by a referendum on independence, which saw significant participation from Croatian Serbs. On 25 June 1991, the Croatian parliament declared independence, prompting the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK) to announce its intention to break away and align with the Republic of Serbia, a move considered insurrection by the Croatian government.
Armed forces and paramilitaries from the RSK expelled Croats and other non-Serbs from their territories, while Serbs in Croatian towns faced harassment and violence.
On 4 August 1995, the Croatian Army, along with the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, launched Operation Storm to reclaim occupied territories and lift the siege of the Bosnian city of Bihać.
The operation forced about 200,000 Serbs to flee towards Serbia, with columns of Serb civilians facing consistent attacks from artillery and small arms fire.
On 7 August, two Croatian Air Force MiG-21 aircraft launched rockets at the refugee convoys on the Petrovac road near Bosanski Petrovac, causing the deaths of nine civilians and injuring over 50, including four children.
The refugees were primarily civilians fleeing the conflict, with no military vehicles or armed forces present among them.
On 8 August, another refugee convoy was targeted in a shelling near the village of Svodna, also resulting in civilian casualties.
Human rights organizations like Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch condemned the attacks and abuses committed during Operation Storm.
