Boričevac massacre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Boričevac massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Boričevac |
| Date | 2 August 1941 |
| Target | Croats |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Deaths | 55[1]–179 |
| Perpetrators | Yugoslav Partisans, Chetniks[2] |
The Boričevac massacre was the massacre of Croat civilians in the village of Boričevac, committed by Serb rebels on 2 August 1941, during the Srb uprising.[1]
In the weeks prior to the Srb Uprising, local Serb civilians had been the victims of Ustaše atrocities.
Throughout July 1941, Ustaše general, Vjekoslav Luburić, ordered the "cleansing" of Serbs from the Donji Lapac area in Lika and the bordering regions of Bosanska Krajina.[3][4] During this time, hundreds of Serb men, women and children were arrested and killed by Ustaše forces. Many of the bodies were dumped into pits and caves, which included a pit near to the village of Boričevac. Other bodies were mutilated and left on display, so as to encourage other Serbs to flee the area. Homes in Serb villages were burned and looted.[5][6]
A small number of local Croats, including those from Boričevac and other areas, had been complicit in Ustaše crimes. However, the majority of Croats did not take part in such crimes, many moderate Croats were opposed to them and actively tried to help their Serb neighbours.[7]
On 27 July 1941, local Serbs launched an uprising against Ustaše authorities.[8] Throughout July, August and September 1941, Croat and Muslim villages across Lika and Western Bosnia were attacked and massacred by Serb insurgents, such killings were said to have been acts of retaliation for earlier Ustaše massacres against Serbs.[9]
Incident
On 2 August 1941, Serb insurgents entered Boričevac; said to have been angered after discovering the remains of Serb victims killed by the Ustaše,[5] the insurgents killed the remaining Croat civilians, all of whom were elderly, women or children, that had not been able to flee.[10] The village was burned the ground, the village's Catholic church was looted and destroyed. Surrounding villages were also burned and massacred.[11]
Sources differ as to whether the Serb insurgents were Chetniks or Yugoslav Partisans.[9][12]
At least 55[10] Croat civilians were massacred, but other sources cite up to 179 civilian victims.[13] About 2,000 of Boričevac's residents fled beforehand to Kulen Vakuf.[10][12]