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The Battle of Vitez (Croatian: Bitka za Vitez) was a battle between the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) that occurred on 20–22 October 1992 during the Bosnian War.
Battle of Vitez | |||||||
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Part of the Croat–Bosniak War and Bosnian War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Background
editOn 19 October 1992, during the early part of the conflict in Novi Travnik, the local TO, on orders from their superiors, put up a barricade in Ahmići in the Vitez municipality on the main road through the Lašva Valley in order to prevent HVO reinforcements reaching Novi Travnik. The HVO warned the ARBiH from Vitez to withdraw and remove the barricades, but the ARBiH of course refused. And on October 20, the battle for Vitez and the surrounding villages begins.[1]
Battle
editOctober 20 in the morning the HVO attacked the Ahmići barricade. The houses were set on fire, the minaret of the mosque was hit. The attack lasted all morning until the ARBiH soldiers manning the barricade ran out of ammunition and the checkpoint was then removed.[2][3] The HVO took over Vitez police station and expelled the Bosnian Muslim police officers. Next day there were fights in the city with ARBiH slowly losing control of the city.[4] Then on 22 October a general cease-fire for the Vitez municipality was signed. Croats took almost full control of the city. Muslim civilians and ARBiH soldiers left the city.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Muslimanski zločini u općini Vitez 1992. – 1995". hu-benedikt.hr (in Croatian). 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
- ^ "Vitez - Sudski utvrđene činjenice iz rata u BiH" (in Bosnian). 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
- ^ "Retrospektiva: Šta je prethodilo hrvatskim zločinima u Ahmićima". AKOS. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
- ^ "Na dan 20.10.1992.: Kod mesta Vitez u Bosni..." www.nadanasnjidan.net. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
- ^ Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2002. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-16-066472-4.