We Should Know the Facts: 69 Croatian Civilians Killed in Lovas in October 1991

Members of the Dušan Silni volunteer unit from Serbia and Serbs from the village of Lovas, with the artilery support of the Second Guard Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav National Army (JNA), attacked the undefended village of Lovas on October 10, 1991, killing 21 Croatian civilians: Mirko Grgić, Mato Adamović, Danijel Badanjak, Cecilija Badanjak, Antun Jovanović, Anka Jovanović, Katarina Pavličević, Juraja Poljak, Josip Kraljević, Alojzije Polić, Mato Keser, Josip Poljak, Ivan Ostrun, Drago Pejić, Mijo Božić, Tomo Sabljak, Vido Krizmanić, Stipe Mađarević,  Pave Đaković, Stipe Pejić, and Živan Antolović.

In the week after the Serbs had established control of the village, members of the Dušan Silni unit, the local Territorial Defence (TO) unit, and the police, killed another 27 Croatian civilians in the presence of the JNA: Darko Pavličić, Željko Pavličić, Anton Luketić, Đuka Luketić, Petar Luketić, Alojzije Krizmanić, Đuka Krizmanić, Andrija Devčić, Stipe Dolački, Marko Damjanović, Franjo Pandža, Ivan Vidić, Stjepan Luketić, Slavica Pavošević, Jozefina Pavošević, Marij Pavošević, Ana Lemunović, Josip Rendulić, Božo Vidić, Marin Balić, Katarina Balić, Rudolf Jonak, Marija Fišer, Zoran Krizmanić, Josip Jovanović, Zvonimir Martinović, and Petar Rendulić.

Eight days after the attack, on October 18, 1991, the above mentioned forces (JNA, local TO, Valjevo TO, police, and the Dušan Silni volunteer unit) took approximately 50 Croatian civilians to a minefield to clean mines which were set there the day before by the JNA. After the explosion of the first mine, soldiers shot and killed the Croatian civilians, including: Marijan Marković, Tomislav Sabljak, Darko Solaković, Ivan Palijan, Zlatko Panjik, Slavko Kuzmić, Ivan Sabljak, Mijo Šalaj, Ivan Kraljević,  Petar Badanjak, Zlatko Božić, Antun Panjik, Marko Vidić, Luka Balić, Marko Sabljak, Mato Hodak, Ivan Conjar, Slavko Štrangarević, and Josip Turkalj, while Nikola Badanjak was killed by an unidentified soldier while he was walking towards the minefield. Apart from those killed, an additional 12 Croatian civilians were seriously injured in the minefield.

Four members of the local authority (Ljuban Devetak, Milan Devčić, Milan Radojčić, and Željko Krnjajić), four member of the JNA (Miodrag Dimitrijević, Darko Perić, Radovan Vlajković, and Radisav Josipović), and six members of the Dušan Silni volunteer unit (Jovan Dimitrijević, Saša Stojanović, Dragan Bačić, Zoran Kosijer, Petronije Stevanović, and Aleksandar Nikolaidis) are being tried before the War Crimes Trial Chamber of the High Court in Belgrade, presided over by Justice Olivera Anđelković, on charges of committing war crimes against civilian populations in which 69 Croatian citizens of the village of Lovas were executed. The indictment in the Lovas case was raised on April 17, 2008.