Siege of Žepa
| Siege of Žepa | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Bosnian War | |||||||||
Eastern Bosnia battleground in January 1993. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Republika Srpska |
Bosnia and Herzegovina UNPROFOR (1995) NATO (1995) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Ratko Mladić Zdravko Tolimir Radislav Krstić Željko Ražnatović |
Mustafa Palić Hamdija Torlak Mehmed Hajrić Avdo Palić Amir Imamović | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Yugoslav People's Army (1992)
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 2,500 soldiers |
1,500 soldiers 79 Ukrainian peacekeepers Air Support | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| 800 recorded deaths in the Žepa municipality | |||||||||
The Siege of Žepa (Serbo-Croatian: Опсада Жепe, Opsada Žepe) was a three-year long siege of the small Bosnian town of Žepa which had lasted from the summer of 1992 – July 1995 during the Bosnian War. It was initially besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and then by the Army of Republika Srpska (VNS). Throughout the siege, Žepa was part of the Srebrenica–Žepa link in eastern Bosnia. From April 1992 – February 1993, the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) and the civilians of Žepa resisted the Bosnian Serb army using guerrilla warfare tactics.
However, in March 1993, VRS general Ratko Mladić ordered the Bosnian Serb forces besieging the town to launch a large-scale counterattack. The attack resulted in the Bosnian Serbs capturing 80 percent of the territory of the Srebrenica enclave once held by the 28th Division of the ARBiH. Due to this attack, Žepa was now separated from Srebrenica and was now a complete enclave of its own.
On 16 April 1993, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 819 the Srebrenica enclave was declared a "UN safe haven". On 6 May 1993, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 824 made Žepa and other cities a "UN safe haven" under the protection of only 79 Ukrainian peacekeepers.
On the 25 July 1995, the Bosnian Serbs, under command of general Ratko Mladić and Zdravko Tolimir, launched an offensive against the 285th Light Mountain Brigade, commanded by Avdo Palić, 14 days after the fall of Srebrenica. The offensive was called "Operation Stupčanica 95" (Serbo-Croatian: Операција Ступчаницa 95, Operacija Stupčanica 95). It resulted in 800 refugees and the deaths of 116 in the takeover.
Unlike in Srebrenica, the commander of the peacekeeping unit, Ukrainian officer Mykola Verkhohlyad in negotiations with general Mladić secured evacuation of civilians from Žepa in UN convoy. Verkhohlyad did not allow them to be taken over by Mladić's forces, which helped save over 10,000 Bosniak civilians.
NATO bombing operations continued targeting Bosnian Serb positions due to constant attacks on Sarajevo and the fall of the "UN safe havens" of Srebrenica and Žepa. The bombing operations wouldn't end until 20 September 1995 and would help the start the foundation of the Dayton Agreement.