Battle of Borovo Selo: Difference between revisions

Battle of Borovo Selo
	Part of the Croatian War of Independence and the Yugoslav Wars
	Borovo Selo
Date	2 May 1991
Location	Borovo Selo, Croatia
Result	SAO Krajina and White Eagles victory
Belligerents
SAO Krajina	Croatia
Commanders and leaders
Vukašin Šoškoćanin; Vojislav Šešelj	Josip Džaja; Josip Reihl-Kir
Units involved
SAO Krajina Militia; Dušan the Mighty paramilitary unit; White Eagles	Croatian Police
Strength
unknown	180 policemen
Casualties and losses
3-20 killed; 4 wounded	12 killed; 22 wounded; 2 captured

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The Battle of Borovo Selo of 2 May 1991, known in Croatia as the Borovo Selo massacre (Croatian: Pokolj u Borovom Selu) and in Serbia as the Borovo Selo incident (Serbian: Инцидент у Боровом Селу), was one of the first armed clashes in the conflict which became known as the Croatian War of Independence. The clash was precipitated by months of rising ethnic tensions, violence, and armed combat in Pakrac and at the Plitvice Lakes in March. The immediate cause for the confrontation in the heavily ethnic Serb village of Borovo Selo, just north of Vukovar, was a failed attempt to replace the Yugoslav flag in the village with the flag of Croatia. The unauthorised effort by four Croatian policemen resulted in the capture of two by a Croatian Serb militia in the village. To retrieve the captives, the Croatian authorities deployed additional police, who drove into an ambush. Twelve Croatian policemen and one Serb paramilitary were killed before the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) intervened and put an end to the clashes.

The confrontation resulted in a further deterioration of the overall situation in Croatia, leading Croats and Serbs to accuse each other of overt aggression and of being enemies of their nation. For Croatia, the event was provocative because the bodies of some of the dead Croat policemen killed in the incident were reportedly mutilated. The clash in Borovo Selo eliminated any hopes that the escalating conflict could be defused politically and made the war almost inevitable. The Presidency of Yugoslavia convened several days after the battle and authorised the JNA to deploy to the area to prevent further conflict. Despite this deployment, skirmishes persisted in the region. After the war, a former paramilitary was convicted of war crimes for his role in abusing the two captured policemen, and ultimately sentenced to three years in prison. Four others were indicted, but remain at large outside Croatia.

Background

In 1990, following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia by the Croatian Democratic Union (Hrvatska demokratska zajednica – HDZ), ethnic tensions between Serbs and Croats worsened. The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) confiscated the weapons of Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana – TO) in order to minimise the possibility of violence following the elections.^[3] On 17 August, inter-ethnic tensions escalated into an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs,^[4] centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin,^[5] and parts of Lika, Kordun, Banovina and eastern Croatia.^[6]

In July 1990, local Serbs established a Serbian National Council to coordinate opposition to Croatian President Franjo Tuđman's policy of pursuing Croatian independence from Yugoslavia. Milan Babić, a dentist from Knin, was elected president of the council, while Knin's police chief, Milan Martić, established a number of paramilitary militias. The two men eventually became the political and military leaders of the Serb Autonomous Oblast of Krajina (SAO Krajina), a self-declared state incorporating the Serb-inhabited areas of Croatia.^[7] In March 1991, SAO Krajina authorities, backed by the government of Serbia, began consolidating control over the Serb-populated areas of Croatia, resulting in a bloodless skirmish in Pakrac and the first fatalities in the Plitvice Lakes incident.^[8]

At the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army. In an effort to bolster its defence, it doubled the number of police personnel to about 20,000. The most effective part of the police force was the 3,000-strong special police, which was deployed in twelve military-style battalions. In addition, Croatia had 9,000–10,000 regionally organised reserve police officers organised in 16 battalions and 10 companies, but they lacked weapons.^[9]

Prelude

Map of the eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar (modern county lines provided for reference)

In 1991, the village of Borovo Selo, situated on the right bank of the Danube opposite Serbia, was a part of the Vukovar municipality. While the city of Vukovar itself had an ethnically mixed population of 47.2 per cent Croats and 32.2 per cent Serbs, smaller settlements in the area were more homogeneous. Fourteen were predominantly populated by Croats, ten (including Borovo Selo) by Serbs, two by Ruthenians and the remaining two were ethnically mixed.^[10]

Amid the worsening ethnic tensions, Borovo Selo was barricaded on 1 April, one day after the Plitvice Lakes clash. Two days later, the JNA garrison in Vukovar increased its combat readiness to the maximum level.^[11] In early spring, the Croats and Serbs reached an agreement whereby Croatian police would not enter Borovo Selo without explicit consent from local Serb authorities.^[12] A political rally was held in Borovo Selo on 14 April, and by the end of the month the situation had become more volatile. Speakers at the rally—Serbian Radical Party (Srpska radikalna stranka – SRS) leader Vojislav Šešelj, Serbian National Assembly member Milan Paroški and Serbian Minister of Diaspora Stanko Cvijan—promoted the creation of Greater Serbia, a state which would unite all Serbs within a single country. They all repeated their speeches, together with an open call for dissenting Croats to be killed, a week later in Jagodnjak, north of Osijek.^[13]

In addition, White Eagles paramilitaries arrived in Borovo Selo in mid-April at the request of local militia commander Vukašin Šoškoćanin. The paramilitaries were either armed directly by Serbia's Ministry of the Interior or by a militia linked to the SAO Krajina, with the approval of the Serbian authorities.^[14]^[15] By the end of April 1991, the White Eagles in Borovo Selo were joined by fighters from the Dušan the Mighty paramilitary unit, which was linked to the Serbian National Renewal party.^[16]

In mid-April, Armbrust rockets were fired from Croatian positions outside Borovo Selo into the village. According to one version of the event, several rounds were fired at agricultural machinery that served as barricades in the outskirts of Borovo Selo.^[17] According to a second version, three rockets were fired at the village with the specific aim of inflaming ethnic tensions.^[18] One of the rockets struck a house and another landed in a field without detonating.^[19] There were no casualties.^[20] Radio-Television Belgrade subsequently broadcast images of the rockets and presented them as evidence of Croatian aggression, further exacerbating inter-ethnic tensions.^[19] The rockets were fired by a group of men who were led to the site by Osijek police chief Josip Reihl-Kir, who was later killed by Croatian irregulars.^[19] Croatia's Interior Minister Josip Boljkovac later indicated that the group included Deputy Defence Minister Gojko Šušak, Branimir Glavaš and Vice Vukojević.^[21] Šušak claimed that he had nothing to do with the incident, but admitted to having been in the area at the time.^[15] Nikola Jaman, then a reserve unit commander in the Ministry of the Interior, later stated that he had led the action, and denied that Šušak, Glavaš and Vukojević had been involved. He claimed that the action was planned together with Reihl-Kir.^[22]

Timeline

Croatian police in Borovo Selo, 2 May 1991.

During the evening of 1 May 1991, four Croatian policemen entered Borovo Selo in an unauthorised attempt to replace a flag of Yugoslavia in the village with a flag of Croatia.^[20] The attempt resulted in an armed clash.^[18] Two of the policemen were wounded and taken prisoner, and the other two fled after sustaining minor injuries (one a wounded foot and the other a grazing wound to the head).^[23] According to Croatia's Ministry of the Interior, the police had been patrolling the Dalj–Borovo Selo road at the time of the incident.^[24] Even though the officers were assigned to the Osijek police administration,^[25] the Vinkovci police administration—which was assigned authority over the Vukovar municipality—asked the Vukovar police station to contact Šoškoćanin about the incident. Vukovar police contacted him at 4:30 a.m., but Šoškoćanin reportedly said he knew nothing. At 9:00 a.m., Vinkovci police chief Josip Džaja telephoned Šoškoćanin and received the same answer. When Reihl-Kir contacted Šoškoćanin half an hour later, the latter confirmed the incident and said the police had shot at members of the local population, wounding one. Reihl-Kir failed to secure the release of the two captured officers.^[24]

Reihl-Kir and Džaja concluded that a party should be sent to Borovo Selo.^[24] Šoškoćanin agreed to grant the police safe passage under a white flag.^[26] A force of twenty to thirty policemen subsequently entered Borovo Selo.^[27] Although they bore a white flag, they were ambushed by paramilitaries and members of a local militia.^[26] Around 150 policemen arrived from Osijek and Vinkovci on buses and were deployed as reinforcements.^[27] The force dispatched from Vinkovci entered Borovo Selo and was ambushed, while the reinforcements sent from Osijek via Dalj were stopped at a roadblock north of Borovo Selo and failed to enter the village. A firefight ensued and lasted until 2:30 p.m., when seven JNA armoured personnel carriers (APCs) moved into the village from Dalj. Another convoy of APCs deployed by the JNA through Borovo Naselje, just south of Borovo Selo, was stopped by a crowd of Croat women who refused to let them through.^[24]

Aftermath

Casualties

Twelve Croatian policemen were killed and 21 injured in the ambush.^[8] The two captured policemen were ferried across the Danube and transported to Novi Sad, but were released and returned to Osijek by the evening of 2 May.^[28] Vojislav Milić, a paramilitary from Valjevo, was the only fatality among the Serb militia.^[29] Four other paramilitaries were wounded.^[30] Some of the police killed at Borovo Selo were found to have been mutilated, their ears cut, their eyes gouged out and their throats slit.^[26]^[18] These acts were meant to inflame ethnic hatred.^[31]

Escalation to war

The municipal building at the center of the May 1991 incident, as seen in April 2021

The clash led Tuđman's advisers to advocate an immediate declaration of independence from Yugoslavia and retaliation against the JNA, which Croats viewed as being pro-Serb.^[8]^[28] On 3 May, Tuđman opined that Croatia and Serbia were virtually at war, but said he hoped the international community would stop the violence.^[8]^[28] According to the Croatian historian Davor Marijan, Tuđman's decision not to retaliate against the JNA was often interpreted at the time as cowardice bordering treason, leading to public criticism and the resignation of General Martin Špegelj from the post of Defence Minister. Nonetheless, the decision afforded Croatia much-needed time to prepare for war, as Yugoslav Navy Fleet Admiral Branko Mamula later acknowledged.^[32] The incident shocked the Croatian public, causing a massive shift in public opinion towards demonisation of Serbs, supported by the Croatian media.^[33] Serbs were collectively labelled "Chetniks", "terrorists" and "enemies of Croatia". Similarly, Serbs referred to Croats as "Ustaše" and "enemies of the Serb people". Thus, a political settlement to avoid all-out war became increasingly unlikely.^[34] After the clash, war appeared unavoidable.^[35]

On 8–9 May, the Presidency of Yugoslavia convened to discuss the events in Borovo Selo and deliberate over a JNA request for military intervention. The presidents of all of Yugoslavia's constituent republics were present at the meeting. The Croatian leadership permitted the JNA to be deployed to areas where inter-ethnic tensions were running high.^[36] On 9 May, representatives of the federal and Croatian governments visited Vukovar. Federal representatives visited Borovo Selo, unlike the Croatian government officials who stated they "refused to talk to terrorists".^[37] In response to the Borovo Selo clash, the JNA redeployed a part of the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade from Osijek and the 1st Mechanised Battalion of the 453rd Mechanised Brigade based in Sremska Mitrovica to the Vukovar area. At the same time, the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 36th Mechanised Brigade was moved from Subotica to Vinkovci.^[38] Despite the deployment of the JNA in the area, ethnically motivated skirmishes persisted until the start of the Battle of Vukovar in late August.^[8]

Memorial controversy and prosecution

The Borovo Selo memorial as it appeared prior to 2012

During the 1996–98 United Nations administration established pursuant to the Erdut Agreement to restore the area to Croatian control, three Croatian non-governmental organisations erected a memorial on public property at the entrance to Borovo Selo, but the site was quickly vandalised. A new monument was erected in the centre of the village in 2002, but this was also vandalised soon after completion. A new plaque bearing the names of the 12 Croatian policemen killed in the incident was added to the monument in 2012,^[39] but was also subject to vandalism.^[40] Although the vandalism was condemned by local Serb politicians, they complained that the memorial was offensive to the Serb minority and imposed guilt on the entire community because it branded Serb forces at Borovo Selo in 1991 as "Serb terrorists".^[41]

In February 2012, an Osijek court convicted Milan Marinković of war crimes and sentenced him to three-and-a-half years in prison for mistreating two captured Croatian police officers.^[42] In 2014, Marinković's sentence was reduced to three years on appeal.^[43] Four other men were indicted in relation to the officers' mistreatment. Since they live outside Croatia, they are not subject to prosecution by the Croatian judiciary.^[42]

Footnotes

^ Crnobrnja, Mihailo (29 April 1996). Yugoslav Drama, Second Edition. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-6615-6.
^ Legvold, Robert; Donia, Robert J.; Fine, John V. A. (1995). "Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed". Foreign Affairs. 74 (3): 181. doi:10.2307/20047169. ISSN 0015-7120.
^ Hoare 2010, p. 117.
^ Hoare 2010, p. 118.
^ The New York Times 19 August 1990.
^ ICTY 12 June 2007.
^ Repe 2009, pp. 141–142.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Central Intelligence Agency 2002, p. 90.
^ Central Intelligence Agency 2002, p. 86.
^ Sučić 2011, p. 19.
^ Sučić 2011, p. 32.
^ Štitkovac 2000, p. 157.
^ Nazor 2007, p. 64.
^ Thomas 1999, p. 97.
^ ^a ^b O'Shea 2012, p. 10.
^ Thomas 1999, p. 96.
^ Čuljak 2003, p. 52.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nation 2003, p. 105.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hockenos 2003, p. 58.
^ ^a ^b Silber & Little 1996, p. 141.
^ Nacional 13 February 2009.
^ Jutarnji list 11 February 2009.
^ Hockenos 2003, pp. 58–59.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ministry of the Interior 2008.
^ Bjelajac & Žunec 2012, p. 249.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ramet 2002, p. 64.
^ ^a ^b Štitkovac 2000, p. 158.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hockenos 2003, p. 59.
^ Thompson 1999, p. 30.
^ Marijan 2004, p. 51.
^ Donia & Van Antwerp Fine 1994, p. 225.
^ Marijan 2012, p. 118.
^ Silber & Little 1996, p. 142.
^ Grandits & Leutloff 2003, p. 37.
^ Štitkovac 2000, p. 159.
^ Nazor 2007, p. 67.
^ Sučić 2011, p. 33.
^ Marijan 2002, p. 368.
^ Pullan & Baillie 2013, p. 122.
^ Glas Slavonije 2 June 2012.
^ Politika Plus 10 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b Pavelić 1 February 2012.
^ Glas Slavonije 14 May 2014.

References

Books

Bjelajac, Mile; Žunec, Ozren (2012). "The War in Croatia, 1991–1995". In Ingrao, Charles; Emmert, Thomas A. (eds.). Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. pp. 232–273. ISBN 9781557536174.
Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis (2002). Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. ISBN 9780160664724. OCLC 50396958.
Crnobrnja, Mihailo (1996). The Yugoslav Drama. Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 9780773566156.
Čuljak, Tihomir (2003). Rat [War] (in Croatian). Osijek. ISBN 953-98383-2-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Donia, Robert J.; Van Antwerp Fine, John (1994). Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed. London, England: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 9781850652120.
Grandits, Hannes; Leutloff, Carolin (2003). "Discourses, Actors, Violence: The Organisation of War-Escalation in the Krajina Region of Croatia 1990–91". In Koehler, Jan; Zürcher, Christoph (eds.). Potentials of Disorder: Explaining Conflict and Stability in the Caucasus and in the Former Yugoslavia. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. pp. 23–45. ISBN 9780719062414.
Hoare, Marko Attila (2010). "The War of Yugoslav Succession". In Ramet, Sabrina P. (ed.). Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 111–136. ISBN 9781139487504.
Hockenos, Paul (2003). Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism & the Balkan Wars. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801441585.
Marijan, Davor (2004). Bitka za Vukovar [Battle of Vukovar] (in Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest. ISBN 9789536324453.
Nation, R. Craig (2003). War in the Balkans, 1991–2002. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Strategic Studies Institute. ISBN 9781584871347.^{[permanent dead link]}
Nazor, Ante (2007). Počeci suvremene hrvatske države: kronologija procesa osamostaljenja Republike Hrvatske: od Memoranduma SANU 1986. do proglašenja neovisnosti 8. listopada 1991 [Beginnings of the Modern Croatian State: A Chronology of the Independence of the Republic of Croatia: from 1986 SANU Memorandum to the Declaration of Independence on 8 October 1991] (in Croatian). Zagreb, Croatia: Croatian Homeland War Memorial Documentation Centre. ISBN 9789537439019.
Pullan, Wendy; Baillie, Britt (2013). Locating Urban Conflicts: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Everyday. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137316882.
O'Shea, Brendan (2012). Perception and Reality in the Modern Yugoslav Conflict: Myth, Falsehood and Deceit 1991–1995. London, England: Routledge. ISBN 9780415650243.
Ramet, Sabrina P. (2002). Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia From the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 9780813339870.
Repe, Božo (2009). "Balkan Wars". In Forsythe, David P. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 138–147. ISBN 9780195334029.
Silber, Laura; Little, Allan (1996). The Death of Yugoslavia. London, England: Penguin Books. ISBN 9781575000053.
Štitkovac, Ejub (2000). "Croatia: The First War". In Udovicki, Jasminka; Ridgeway, James (eds.). Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 154–174. ISBN 9780822325901.
Thomas, Robert (1999). Serbia Under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s. London, England: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 9781850653417.
Thompson, Mark (1999). Forging War: The Media in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina. Luton, England: University of Luton Press. ISBN 9781860205521.

Scientific journal articles

Marijan, Davor (October 2002). "Bitka za Vukovar 1991" [Battle of Vukovar]. Scrinia Slavonica (in Croatian). 2 (1). Croatian Historical Institute – Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja: 367–402. ISSN 1332-4853.
Marijan, Davor (May 2012). "The Sarajevo Ceasefire – Realism or strategic error by the Croatian leadership?". Review of Croatian History. 7 (1). Croatian Institute of History: 103–123. ISSN 1845-4380.
Sučić, Stjepan (June 2011). "Značaj obrane Vukovara u stvaranju hrvatske države" [Significance of Vukovar Defence in Creation of the Croatian State]. National Security and the Future (in Croatian). 12 (3). St. George Association, Zagreb: 11–69. ISSN 1332-4454.

News reports

Butigan, Sanja (2 June 2012). "Na spomenik ubijenim redarstvenicima četiri "S" ispisao mladić (20) iz Borova" [A 20-Year Old Youth from Borovo Writes Four S-es on the Monument to the Killed Constables]. Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). Osijek, Croatia. ISSN 0350-3968. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
Čizmić, Martina (13 February 2009). "Josip Boljkovac: Hrvatska je prva napala Srbe" [Josip Boljkovac: Croatia Attacked Serbs First]. Nacional (in Croatian). Zagreb, Croatia. ISSN 1331-8209. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
Deželić, Vanja (10 May 2012). "Puhovski: Spomen ploča u Borovu Selu osuđuje srpske teroriste, a ne Srbe kao manjinu" [Puhovski: Borovo Selo Memorial Plaque Condemns Serb Terrorists Rather Than Serbs as a Minority] (in Croatian). Zagreb, Croatia: Politika Plus. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
Pavelić, Boris (1 February 2012). "Milan Marinkovic Sentenced for War Crimes in Borovo Selo". Balkan Insight. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013.
Prusina, Tomislav (11 February 2009). "Jaman: Boljkovac laže" [Jaman: Boljkovac is lying]. Jutarnji list.
Mikola, Danijela (2 May 2014). "Nitko nije kažnjen: U Borovu Selu ubijeno 12 redarstvenika" [No Justice: 12 Police Officers Killed in Borovo Selo]. 24sata.hr.
"Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts". The New York Times. New York City. Reuters. 19 August 1990. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.
"Tri godine zatvora za mučenje hrvatskih redarstvenika 1991" [Three years in prison for the torture of two Croatian policemen in 1991]. Glas Slavonije. 14 May 2014.

Other sources

"Memorijal 12 redarstvenika, 2008" [12 Constables Memorial, 2008] (in Croatian). Ministry of the Interior (Croatia). 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013.
"The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement" (PDF). International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 12 June 2007.

45°22′51.60″N 18°57′27.00″E / 45.3810000°N 18.9575000°E / 45.3810000; 18.9575000

[1] Crnobrnja, Mihailo (29 April 1996). Yugoslav Drama, Second Edition. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-6615-6.

[2] Legvold, Robert; Donia, Robert J.; Fine, John V. A. (1995). "Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed". Foreign Affairs. 74 (3): 181. doi:10.2307/20047169. ISSN 0015-7120.

[FOOTNOTEHoare2010117-3] Hoare 2010, p. 117.

[FOOTNOTEHoare2010118-4] Hoare 2010, p. 118.

[FOOTNOTEThe_New_York_Times_19_August_1990-5] The New York Times 19 August 1990.

[FOOTNOTEICTY_12_June_2007-6] ICTY 12 June 2007.

[FOOTNOTERepe2009141–142-7] Repe 2009, pp. 141–142.

[FOOTNOTECentral_Intelligence_Agency200290-8] Central Intelligence Agency 2002, p. 90.

[FOOTNOTECentral_Intelligence_Agency200286-9] Central Intelligence Agency 2002, p. 86.

[FOOTNOTESučić201119-10] Sučić 2011, p. 19.

[FOOTNOTESučić201132-11] Sučić 2011, p. 32.

[FOOTNOTEŠtitkovac2000157-12] Štitkovac 2000, p. 157.

[FOOTNOTENazor200764-13] Nazor 2007, p. 64.

[FOOTNOTEThomas199997-14] Thomas 1999, p. 97.

[FOOTNOTEO'Shea201210-15] O'Shea 2012, p. 10.

[FOOTNOTEThomas199996-16] Thomas 1999, p. 96.

[FOOTNOTEČuljak200352-17] Čuljak 2003, p. 52.

[FOOTNOTENation2003105-18] Nation 2003, p. 105.

[FOOTNOTEHockenos200358-19] Hockenos 2003, p. 58.

[FOOTNOTESilberLittle1996141-20] Silber & Little 1996, p. 141.

[FOOTNOTENacional_13_February_2009-21] Nacional 13 February 2009.

[FOOTNOTEJutarnji_list_11_February_2009-22] Jutarnji list 11 February 2009.

[FOOTNOTEHockenos200358–59-23] Hockenos 2003, pp. 58–59.

[FOOTNOTEMinistry_of_the_Interior_2008-24] Ministry of the Interior 2008.

[FOOTNOTEBjelajacŽunec2012249-25] Bjelajac & Žunec 2012, p. 249.

[FOOTNOTERamet200264-26] Ramet 2002, p. 64.

[FOOTNOTEŠtitkovac2000158-27] Štitkovac 2000, p. 158.

[FOOTNOTEHockenos200359-28] Hockenos 2003, p. 59.

[FOOTNOTEThompson199930-29] Thompson 1999, p. 30.

[FOOTNOTEMarijan200451-30] Marijan 2004, p. 51.

[FOOTNOTEDoniaVan_Antwerp_Fine1994225-31] Donia & Van Antwerp Fine 1994, p. 225.

[FOOTNOTEMarijan2012118-32] Marijan 2012, p. 118.

[FOOTNOTESilberLittle1996142-33] Silber & Little 1996, p. 142.

[FOOTNOTEGranditsLeutloff200337-34] Grandits & Leutloff 2003, p. 37.

[FOOTNOTEŠtitkovac2000159-35] Štitkovac 2000, p. 159.

[FOOTNOTENazor200767-36] Nazor 2007, p. 67.

[FOOTNOTESučić201133-37] Sučić 2011, p. 33.

[FOOTNOTEMarijan2002368-38] Marijan 2002, p. 368.

[FOOTNOTEPullanBaillie2013122-39] Pullan & Baillie 2013, p. 122.

[FOOTNOTEGlas_Slavonije_2_June_2012-40] Glas Slavonije 2 June 2012.

[FOOTNOTEPolitika_Plus_10_May_2012-41] Politika Plus 10 May 2012.

[FOOTNOTEPavelić_1_February_2012-42] Pavelić 1 February 2012.

[FOOTNOTEGlas_Slavonije_14_May_2014-43] Glas Slavonije 14 May 2014.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|First armed clashes in the conflict which became known as the Croatian War of Independence.}}
 {{good article}}
 {{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
 {{Infobox military conflict
-| conflict    = Battle of Borovo Selo
+| conflict          = Battle of Borovo Selo
-| partof      = the [[Croatian War of Independence]]
+| partof            = the [[Croatian War of Independence]] and the [[Yugoslav Wars]]
-| image       = {{location map|Croatia|float=center|label=[[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]]|caption=|lat=45.381|long=18.9575}}
+| image             = {{location map|Croatia|float=center|label=[[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]]|caption=|lat=45.381|long=18.9575}}
-| caption     =
+| caption           =
-| date        = 2 May 1991
+| date              = 2 May 1991
-| place       = [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]], [[Croatia]]
+| place             = [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]], [[Croatia]]
-| result      = [[SAO Krajina]] and [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]] victory
+| result            = [[SAO Krajina]] and [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]] victory
-| combatant1  = {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg}} [[SAO Krajina]]
+| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg}} [[SAO Krajina]]
-| combatant2  = {{flag|Croatia}}
+| combatant2        = {{flag|Croatia}}
-| commander1  = [[File:Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg|22px|border|SAO Krajina]] [[Vukašin Šoškoćanin]]<br>[[File:Flag of Serbia 1992-2004.svg|22px|border|White Eagles]] [[Vojislav Šešelj]]
+| commander1        = [[File:Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg|22px|border|SAO Krajina]] [[Vukašin Šoškoćanin]]<br>[[File:Flag of Serbia 1992-2004.svg|22px|border|White Eagles]] [[Vojislav Šešelj]]
-| commander2  = {{flagicon|Croatia}} Josip Džaja<br>{{flagicon|Croatia}} [[Josip Reihl-Kir]]
+| commander2        = {{flagicon|Croatia}} Josip Džaja<br>{{flagicon|Croatia}} [[Josip Reihl-Kir]]
-| units1      = {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg}} SAO Krajina militia<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia 1992-2004.svg}} [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia 1992-2004.svg}} ''Dušan Silni'' detachment
+| units1            = {{flagicon image|Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg}} [[SAO Krajina]] [[Militia (Yugoslavia)|Militia]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia 1992-2004.svg}} [[Dusan the Mighty (Paramilitary)|Dušan the Mighty paramilitary unit]]<br> [[File:White_eagles.svg|22px]] [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]]
-| units2      = {{flagicon image|Flag of Croatian Police.svg}} [[Law enforcement in Croatia|Croatian Police]]
+| units2            = {{flagicon image|Flag of Croatian Police.svg}} [[Law enforcement in Croatia|Croatian Police]]
-| strength1   = unknown
+| strength1         = unknown
-| strength2   = {{circa}} 180 policemen
+| strength2         = 180 policemen
+| casualties1       = 3-20 killed<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crnobrnja |first=Mihailo |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9780773566156 |title=Yugoslav Drama, Second Edition |date=1996-04-29 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-6615-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Legvold |first=Robert |last2=Donia |first2=Robert J. |last3=Fine |first3=John V. A. |date=1995 |title=Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20047169 |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=181 |doi=10.2307/20047169 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref><br>4 wounded
-| casualties1 = 1 killed<br>4 wounded
-| casualties2 = 12 killed<br>21 wounded<br>2 captured
+| casualties2       = 12 killed<br>22 wounded<br>2 captured
-| campaignbox ={{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
+| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Croatian War of Independence}}
 }}
-The '''Battle of Borovo Selo''' on 2 May 1991 (known in [[Croatia]] as the '''Borovo Selo massacre''', {{lang-hr|Pokolj u Borovom Selu}} and in [[Serbia]] as the '''Borovo Selo incident''', {{lang-sr|Инцидент у Боровом Селу}}) was one of the first armed clashes in the conflict which became known as the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. The clash was precipitated by months of rising ethnic tensions, violence, and armed combat in [[Pakrac clash|Pakrac]] and at the [[Plitvice Lakes incident|Plitvice Lakes]] in March. The immediate cause for the confrontation in the heavily ethnic Serb village of [[Borovo Selo]], just north of [[Vukovar]], was a failed attempt to replace a [[Flag of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav flag]] in the village with a [[Flag of Croatia|Croatian one]]. The unauthorised effort by four Croatian policemen resulted in the capture of two by a [[Croatian Serb]] militia in the village. To retrieve the captives, Croatian authorities deployed additional police, who drove into an ambush. Twelve Croatian policemen and one Serb paramilitary were killed in the battle before the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA) intervened and stopped the fighting.
+The '''Battle of Borovo Selo''' of 2 May 1991, known in [[Croatia]] as the '''Borovo Selo massacre''' ({{lang-hr|Pokolj u Borovom Selu}}) and in [[Serbia]] as the '''Borovo Selo incident''' ({{lang-sr|Инцидент у Боровом Селу}}), was one of the first armed clashes in the conflict which became known as the [[Croatian War of Independence]]. The clash was precipitated by months of rising ethnic tensions, violence, and armed combat in [[Pakrac clash|Pakrac]] and at the [[Plitvice Lakes incident|Plitvice Lakes]] in March. The immediate cause for the confrontation in the heavily ethnic Serb village of [[Borovo Selo]], just north of [[Vukovar]], was a failed attempt to replace the [[Flag of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav flag]] in the village with the [[flag of Croatia]]. The unauthorised effort by four Croatian policemen resulted in the capture of two by a [[Serbs of Croatia|Croatian Serb]] militia in the village. To retrieve the captives, the Croatian authorities deployed additional police, who drove into an ambush. Twelve Croatian policemen and one Serb paramilitary were killed before the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA) intervened and put an end to the clashes.
-The confrontation resulted in a further deterioration of the overall situation in Croatia, leading [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]] to accuse each other of overt aggression and of being enemies of their nation. For Croatia, the event was provocative because the bodies of some of the dead Croat policemen killed in the incident were reportedly [[Mutilation|mutilated]]. The clash in Borovo Selo eliminated any hopes that the escalating conflict could be defused politically and made the war almost inevitable. The [[Presidency of Yugoslavia]] met days after the fighting and authorised the JNA to deploy to the area to prevent further conflict but despite this deployment, skirmishes persisted in the region. After the war, a former Serb irregular was convicted of [[war crimes]] for his role in abusing two captured policemen, and ultimately sentenced to three years in prison. Four others were indicted ''in absentia'' but remain at large outside Croatia.
+The confrontation resulted in a further deterioration of the overall situation in Croatia, leading [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]] to accuse each other of overt aggression and of being enemies of their nation. For Croatia, the event was provocative because the bodies of some of the dead Croat policemen killed in the incident were reportedly [[Mutilation|mutilated]]. The clash in Borovo Selo eliminated any hopes that the escalating conflict could be defused politically and made the war almost inevitable. The [[Presidency of Yugoslavia]] convened several days after the battle and authorised the JNA to deploy to the area to prevent further conflict. Despite this deployment, skirmishes persisted in the region. After the war, a former paramilitary was convicted of [[war crimes]] for his role in abusing the two captured policemen, and ultimately sentenced to three years in prison. Four others were indicted, but remain at large outside Croatia.
 ==Background==
 {{See also|Log revolution}}
-In 1990, following the [[Croatian parliamentary election, 1990|electoral defeat]] of the government of the [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]] by the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] (''Hrvatska demokratska zajednica'' – HDZ), ethnic tensions between [[Serbs]] and [[Croats]] worsened. The [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) confiscated the weapons of Croatia's [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence]] (''Teritorijalna obrana'' – TO) in order to minimise the possibility of violence following the elections.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=117}} On 17 August, inter-ethnic tensions escalated into an [[Log Revolution|open revolt]] of the [[Serbs of Croatia|Croatian Serbs]],{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=118}} centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the [[Dalmatia]]n hinterland around [[Knin]],{{sfn|The New York Times|19 August 1990}} and parts of [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banovina (region)|Banovina]] and [[eastern Croatia]].{{sfn|ICTY|12 June 2007}}
+In 1990, following the [[Croatian parliamentary election, 1990|electoral defeat]] of the government of the [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]] by the [[Croatian Democratic Union]] (''Hrvatska demokratska zajednica'' – HDZ), ethnic tensions between [[Serbs]] and [[Croats]] worsened. The [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (''Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija'' – JNA) confiscated the weapons of Croatia's [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence]] (''Teritorijalna obrana'' – TO) in order to minimise the possibility of violence following the elections.{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=117}} On 17 August, inter-ethnic tensions escalated into an [[Log Revolution|open revolt]] of the [[Serbs of Croatia|Croatian Serbs]],{{sfn|Hoare|2010|p=118}} centred on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the [[Dalmatia]]n hinterland around [[Knin]],{{sfn|The New York Times 19 August 1990}} and parts of [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banovina (region)|Banovina]] and [[eastern Croatia]].{{sfn|ICTY 12 June 2007}}
-In July 1990, local Serbs established a Serbian National Council to coordinate opposition to [[Croatian President]] [[Franjo Tuđman]]'s policy of pursuing [[independence of Croatia|Croatian independence]] from [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. [[Milan Babić]], a dentist from Knin, was elected president of the council, while Knin's police chief, [[Milan Martić]], established a number of paramilitary militias. The two men eventually became the political and military leaders of the [[SAO Krajina|Serb Autonomous ''Oblast'' of Krajina]] (SAO Krajina), a self-declared state incorporating the Serb-inhabited areas of Croatia.{{sfn|Repe|2009|pp=141–142}} In March 1991, SAO Krajina authorities, backed by the government of [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]], began consolidating control over the Serb-populated areas of Croatia, resulting in a [[Pakrac clash|bloodless skirmish in Pakrac]] and the first fatalities in the [[Plitvice Lakes incident]].{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=90}}
+In July 1990, local Serbs established a Serbian National Council to coordinate opposition to [[Croatian President]] [[Franjo Tuđman]]'s policy of pursuing [[independence of Croatia|Croatian independence]] from [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. [[Milan Babić]], a dentist from Knin, was elected president of the council, while Knin's police chief, [[Milan Martić]], established a number of paramilitary militias. The two men eventually became the political and military leaders of the [[SAO Krajina|Serb Autonomous ''Oblast'' of Krajina]] (SAO Krajina), a self-declared state incorporating the Serb-inhabited areas of Croatia.{{sfn|Repe|2009|pp=141–142}} In March 1991, SAO Krajina authorities, backed by the government of [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]], began consolidating control over the Serb-populated areas of Croatia, resulting in a [[Pakrac clash|bloodless skirmish in Pakrac]] and the first fatalities in the [[Plitvice Lakes incident]].{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=90}}
-At the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army. In an effort to bolster its defence, it doubled the number of [[Law enforcement in Croatia|police personnel]] to about 20,000. The most effective part of the police force was the [[Croatian special police order of battle in 1991–95|3,000-strong special police]], which was deployed in twelve military-style battalions. In addition, Croatia had 9,000–10,000 regionally organised reserve police officers organised in 16 battalions and 10 companies, but they lacked weapons.{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=86}}
+At the beginning of 1991, Croatia had no regular army. In an effort to bolster its defence, it doubled the number of [[Law enforcement in Croatia|police personnel]] to about 20,000. The most effective part of the police force was the [[Croatian special police order of battle in 1991–95|3,000-strong special police]], which was deployed in twelve military-style battalions. In addition, Croatia had 9,000–10,000 regionally organised reserve police officers organised in 16 battalions and 10 companies, but they lacked weapons.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=86}}
 ==Prelude==
 {{Location map many|Croatia Osijek Županja Ilok| width=300|alt= Location map of eastern Slavonia
-| caption=Map of eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar ([[Counties of Croatia|Modern county]] lines provided for reference)
+| caption=Map of the eastern Slavonia area between Osijek and Vukovar ([[Counties of Croatia|modern county]] lines provided for reference)
 | label1=[[Vukovar]] | lat1=45.35 | long1=19.00 | label1_size=75 | mark1size=6 | position1=bottom
@@ Line 45: / Line 46: @@
 | label6=[[Osijek]] | lat6=45.55 | long6=18.69 | label6_size=75 | mark6size=6 | position6=left
 }}
-In 1991, the village of [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]], situated on the right bank of the [[Danube]] opposite Serbia, was a part of the [[Vukovar]] municipality. While the city of Vukovar itself had an ethnically mixed population (47.2 percent Croats and 32.2 percent Serbs), smaller settlements in the area were more homogenous. Fourteen were predominantly populated by Croats, ten (including Borovo Selo) by Serbs, two by [[Ruthenians]] and the remaining two were ethnically mixed.{{sfn|Sučić|2011|p=19}}
+In 1991, the village of [[Borovo, Croatia|Borovo Selo]], situated on the right bank of the [[Danube]] opposite Serbia, was a part of the [[Vukovar]] municipality. While the city of Vukovar itself had an ethnically mixed population of 47.2 per cent Croats and 32.2 per cent Serbs, smaller settlements in the area were more homogeneous. Fourteen were predominantly populated by Croats, ten (including Borovo Selo) by Serbs, two by [[Ruthenians]] and the remaining two were ethnically mixed.{{sfn|Sučić|2011|p=19}}
 Amid the worsening ethnic tensions, Borovo Selo was barricaded on 1 April, one day after the Plitvice Lakes clash. Two days later, the JNA garrison in Vukovar increased its [[combat readiness]] to the maximum level.{{sfn|Sučić|2011|p=32}} In early spring, the Croats and Serbs reached an agreement whereby Croatian police would not enter Borovo Selo without explicit consent from local Serb authorities.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=157}} A political rally was held in Borovo Selo on 14 April, and by the end of the month the situation had become more volatile. Speakers at the rally—[[Serbian Radical Party]] (''Srpska radikalna stranka'' – SRS) leader [[Vojislav Šešelj]], Serbian [[National Assembly (Serbia)|National Assembly]] member [[Milan Paroški]] and Serbian [[Ministry of Religion and Diaspora (Serbia)|Minister of Diaspora]] [[Stanko Cvijan]]—promoted the creation of [[Greater Serbia]], a state which would unite all Serbs within a single country. They all repeated their speeches, together with an open call for dissenting Croats to be killed, a week later in [[Jagodnjak]], north of [[Osijek]].{{sfn|Nazor|2007|p=64}}
-In addition, [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles paramilitaries]] arrived in Borovo Selo in mid-April at the request of Borovo Selo militia commander [[Vukašin Šoškoćanin]].{{sfn|O'Shea|2012|p=10}}{{sfn|Thomas|1999|p=97}} The paramilitaries were armed by the Serbian police directly,{{sfn|O'Shea|2012|p=10}} or the SAO Krajina-aligned local militia under the approval of Serbian officials.{{sfn|Thomas|1999|p=97}} By the end of April 1991, the White Eagles in Borovo Selo were joined by ''Dušan Silni'' paramilitaries, who were linked to the [[Serbian National Renewal]] party.{{sfn|Thomas|1999|p=96}}
+In addition, [[White Eagles (paramilitary)|White Eagles]] paramilitaries arrived in Borovo Selo in mid-April at the request of local militia commander [[Vukašin Šoškoćanin]]. The paramilitaries were either armed directly by Serbia's [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia)|Ministry of the Interior]] or by a militia linked to the SAO Krajina, with the approval of the Serbian authorities.{{sfn|Thomas|1999|p=97}}{{sfn|O'Shea|2012|p=10}} By the end of April 1991, the White Eagles in Borovo Selo were joined by fighters from the [[Dušan the Mighty]] paramilitary unit, which was linked to the [[Serbian National Renewal]] party.{{sfn|Thomas|1999|p=96}}
-In mid-April, [[Armbrust]] rockets were fired from Croatian positions outside Borovo Selo into the village. According to one version of the event, several rounds were fired at agricultural machinery that served as barricades in the outskirts of Borovo Selo.{{sfn|Čuljak|2003|p=52}} According to a second version, three rockets were fired on the village with the specific aim of inflaming ethnic tensions.{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} One of the rockets hit a house and another landed in a field, failing to explode.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} There were no casualties,{{sfn|Silber|Little|1996|p=141}} but the already tense situation was made worse when the unexploded rocket was shown on [[Radio Television of Serbia|Serbian Television]] as evidence of Croatian aggression against Serbs.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} The rockets were fired by a group of men that were led to the site by Osijek police chief [[Josip Reihl-Kir]], who was later murdered by Croat irregulars.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} Croatia's interior minister [[Josip Boljkovac]] said the group included Deputy [[Ministry of Defence (Croatia)|Defence Minister]] [[Gojko Šušak]], [[Branimir Glavaš]] and [[Vice Vukojević]].{{sfn|Nacional|13 February 2009}} Šušak claimed he had nothing to do with the incident but had been in the area at the time.{{sfn|O'Shea|2012|p=10}} Nikola Jaman, at the time a commander of the local Police Reserve unit, said that he led the action and denied that Šušak, Glavaš and Vukojević were in the group. Jaman noted that the action was planned together with Reihl-Kir.{{sfn|Jutarnji list|11 February 2009}}
+In mid-April, [[Armbrust]] rockets were fired from Croatian positions outside Borovo Selo into the village. According to one version of the event, several rounds were fired at agricultural machinery that served as barricades in the outskirts of Borovo Selo.{{sfn|Čuljak|2003|p=52}} According to a second version, three rockets were fired at the village with the specific aim of inflaming ethnic tensions.{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} One of the rockets struck a house and another landed in a field without detonating.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} There were no casualties.{{sfn|Silber|Little|1996|p=141}} [[Radio Television of Serbia|Radio-Television Belgrade]] subsequently broadcast images of the rockets and presented them as evidence of Croatian aggression, further exacerbating inter-ethnic tensions.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} The rockets were fired by a group of men who were led to the site by Osijek police chief [[Josip Reihl-Kir]], who was later killed by Croatian irregulars.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} Croatia's [[Ministry of the Interior (Croatia)|Interior Minister]] [[Josip Boljkovac]] later indicated that the group included Deputy [[Ministry of Defence (Croatia)|Defence Minister]] [[Gojko Šušak]], [[Branimir Glavaš]] and [[Vice Vukojević]].{{sfn|Nacional 13 February 2009}} Šušak claimed that he had nothing to do with the incident, but admitted to having been in the area at the time.{{sfn|O'Shea|2012|p=10}} Nikola Jaman, then a reserve unit commander in the Ministry of the Interior, later stated that he had led the action, and denied that Šušak, Glavaš and Vukojević had been involved. He claimed that the action was planned together with Reihl-Kir.{{sfn|Jutarnji list 11 February 2009}}
-== Timeline==
+==Timeline==
 [[File:Croatian Police in Borovo Selo on 2 May 1991.jpg|thumb|250px|Croatian police in Borovo Selo, 2 May 1991.]]
-During the evening of 1 May 1991, four Croatian policemen entered [[Borovo Selo]] in an unauthorised attempt to replace a [[Flag of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav flag]] in the village with a [[Flag of Croatia|Croatian one]].{{sfn|MUP|2008}}{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=58}} The attempt resulted in an armed clash.{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} Two of the policemen were wounded and taken prisoner, and the other two fled after sustaining minor injuries (one a wounded foot and the other a grazing wound to the head).{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|pp=58–59}} According to the [[Ministry of the Interior (Croatia)|Croatian Ministry of the Interior]], the police had been patrolling the [[Dalj]]–Borovo Selo road at the time of the incident.{{sfn|MUP|2008}} Even though the officers were assigned to the Osijek police administration,{{sfn|Bjelajac|Žunec|2012|p=249}} the [[Vinkovci]] police administration{{mdash}}which was assigned authority over the Vukovar municipality{{mdash}}asked the Vukovar police station to contact Šoškoćanin about the incident. Vukovar police contacted him at 4:30&nbsp;a.m., but Šoškoćanin reportedly said he knew nothing. At 9:00&nbsp;a.m., Vinkovci police chief [[Josip Džaja]] telephoned Šoškoćanin and received the same answer. When Reihl-Kir contacted Šoškoćanin half an hour later, the latter confirmed the incident and said the police had shot at members of the local population, wounding one. Reihl-Kir failed to secure the release of the two captured officers.{{sfn|MUP|2008}}
+During the evening of 1 May 1991, four Croatian policemen entered Borovo Selo in an unauthorised attempt to replace a [[flag of Yugoslavia]] in the village with a [[flag of Croatia]].{{sfn|Silber|Little|1996|p=141}} The attempt resulted in an armed clash.{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} Two of the policemen were wounded and taken prisoner, and the other two fled after sustaining minor injuries (one a wounded foot and the other a grazing wound to the head).{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|pp=58–59}} According to Croatia's Ministry of the Interior, the police had been patrolling the [[Dalj]]–Borovo Selo road at the time of the incident.{{sfn|Ministry of the Interior 2008}} Even though the officers were assigned to the Osijek police administration,{{sfn|Bjelajac|Žunec|2012|p=249}} the [[Vinkovci]] police administration{{mdash}}which was assigned authority over the Vukovar municipality{{mdash}}asked the Vukovar police station to contact Šoškoćanin about the incident. Vukovar police contacted him at 4:30&nbsp;a.m., but Šoškoćanin reportedly said he knew nothing. At 9:00&nbsp;a.m., Vinkovci police chief [[Josip Džaja]] telephoned Šoškoćanin and received the same answer. When Reihl-Kir contacted Šoškoćanin half an hour later, the latter confirmed the incident and said the police had shot at members of the local population, wounding one. Reihl-Kir failed to secure the release of the two captured officers.{{sfn|Ministry of the Interior 2008}}
-Reihl-Kir and Džaja concluded that a party should be sent to Borovo Selo,{{sfn|MUP|2008}} and [[Vukašin Šoškoćanin|Šoškoćanin]] agreed to grant the police safe passage under a [[white flag]].{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}} However, when the force of between 20 and 30 policemen{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=158}}{{sfn|MUP|2008}} entered Borovo Selo under the white flag, they were ambushed by paramilitaries and members of a local militia.{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}} Approximately 150 police arrived from Osijek and Vinkovci on buses and were deployed as reinforcements.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=158}} The force dispatched from Vinkovci entered Borovo Selo and was ambushed, while the reinforcements sent from Osijek via Dalj were stopped at a roadblock north of Borovo Selo and failed to enter the village. A firefight ensued and lasted until 2:30 p.m., when seven [[Yugoslav People's Army|JNA]] [[armoured personnel carrier]]s (APCs) moved into the village from Dalj. Another convoy of APCs deployed by the JNA through [[Borovo Naselje]], just south of Borovo Selo, was stopped by a crowd of Croat women who refused to let them through.{{sfn|MUP|2008}}
+Reihl-Kir and Džaja concluded that a party should be sent to Borovo Selo.{{sfn|Ministry of the Interior 2008}} Šoškoćanin agreed to grant the police safe passage under a [[white flag]].{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}} A force of twenty to thirty policemen subsequently entered Borovo Selo.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=158}} Although they bore a white flag, they were ambushed by paramilitaries and members of a local militia.{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}} Around 150 policemen arrived from Osijek and Vinkovci on buses and were deployed as reinforcements.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=158}} The force dispatched from Vinkovci entered Borovo Selo and was ambushed, while the reinforcements sent from Osijek via Dalj were stopped at a roadblock north of Borovo Selo and failed to enter the village. A firefight ensued and lasted until 2:30&nbsp;p.m., when seven JNA [[armoured personnel carrier]]s (APCs) moved into the village from Dalj. Another convoy of APCs deployed by the JNA through [[Borovo Naselje]], just south of Borovo Selo, was stopped by a crowd of Croat women who refused to let them through.{{sfn|Ministry of the Interior 2008}}
 ==Aftermath==
 ===Casualties===
-Twelve Croatian policemen were killed and 21 injured in the ambush.{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=90}} The two captured policemen were ferried across the Danube and transported to [[Novi Sad]], but were released and returned to Osijek by the evening of 2 May.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}}{{sfn|MUP|2008}} Vojislav Milić, a paramilitary from [[Valjevo]], was the only fatality on the Serb side,{{sfn|24sata.hr|2 May 2014}} while four men were injured.{{sfn|Marijan|2004|p=51}} Some of the police killed at Borovo Selo were found to have been mutilated, their ears cut, their eyes gouged out and their throats slit.{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}}{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} These acts were meant to inflame ethnic hatred.{{sfn|Donia|Van Antwerp Fine|1994|p=225}}
+Twelve Croatian policemen were killed and 21 injured in the ambush.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=90}} The two captured policemen were ferried across the Danube and transported to [[Novi Sad]], but were released and returned to Osijek by the evening of 2 May.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}} Vojislav Milić, a paramilitary from [[Valjevo]], was the only fatality among the Serb militia.{{sfn|Thompson|1999|p=30}} Four other paramilitaries were wounded.{{sfn|Marijan|2004|p=51}} Some of the police killed at Borovo Selo were found to have been mutilated, their ears cut, their eyes gouged out and their throats slit.{{sfn|Ramet|2002|p=64}}{{sfn|Nation|2003|p=105}} These acts were meant to inflame ethnic hatred.{{sfn|Donia|Van Antwerp Fine|1994|p=225}}
 ===Escalation to war===
+[[File:Borovo-Борово (zgrada opštine).jpg|thumb|The municipal building at the center of the May 1991 incident, as seen in April 2021]]
-The clash led Tuđman's advisers to advocate an immediate declaration of independence from Yugoslavia and retaliation against the JNA, which Croats viewed as being pro-Serb.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}}{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=90}} On 3 May, Tuđman opined that Croatia and Serbia were virtually at war, but said he hoped the international community would stop the violence.{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}}{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=90}} According to Croatian historian Davor Marijan, Tuđman's decision not to retaliate against the JNA was often interpreted at the time as cowardice bordering treason, leading to public criticism and the resignation of General [[Martin Špegelj]] from the post of Defence Minister. Nonetheless, the decision afforded Croatia much-needed time to prepare for war, as [[Yugoslav Navy]] Fleet Admiral [[Branko Mamula]] later acknowledged.{{sfn|Marijan|2012|p=118}} The incident shocked the Croatian public, causing a massive shift in public opinion towards demonization of Serbs, supported by the [[Media of Croatia|Croatian media]].{{sfn|Silber|Little|1996|p=142}} Serbs were collectively labelled "[[Chetniks]]", "terrorists" and "enemies of Croatia". Similarly, Serbs referred to Croats as "[[Ustaše]]" and "enemies of the Serb people". Thus, a political settlement to avoid all-out war became increasingly unlikely.{{sfn|Grandits|Leutloff|2003|p=37}} After the clash, war appeared unavoidable.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=159}}
+The clash led Tuđman's advisers to advocate an immediate declaration of independence from Yugoslavia and retaliation against the JNA, which Croats viewed as being pro-Serb.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=90}}{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}} On 3 May, Tuđman opined that Croatia and Serbia were virtually at war, but said he hoped the international community would stop the violence.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=90}}{{sfn|Hockenos|2003|p=59}} According to the Croatian historian Davor Marijan, Tuđman's decision not to retaliate against the JNA was often interpreted at the time as cowardice bordering treason, leading to public criticism and the resignation of General [[Martin Špegelj]] from the post of Defence Minister. Nonetheless, the decision afforded Croatia much-needed time to prepare for war, as [[Yugoslav Navy]] Fleet Admiral [[Branko Mamula]] later acknowledged.{{sfn|Marijan|2012|p=118}} The incident shocked the Croatian public, causing a massive shift in public opinion towards demonisation of Serbs, supported by the [[Media of Croatia|Croatian media]].{{sfn|Silber|Little|1996|p=142}} Serbs were collectively labelled "[[Chetniks]]", "terrorists" and "enemies of Croatia". Similarly, Serbs referred to Croats as "[[Ustaše]]" and "enemies of the Serb people". Thus, a political settlement to avoid all-out war became increasingly unlikely.{{sfn|Grandits|Leutloff|2003|p=37}} After the clash, war appeared unavoidable.{{sfn|Štitkovac|2000|p=159}}
-On 8–9 May, the [[Presidency of Yugoslavia]] met to discuss the events in Borovo Selo and a JNA request for military intervention. Presidents of all [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia#Federal subjects|Yugoslav constituent republics]] were present at the meeting, where the Croatian leadership accepted the decision to deploy the JNA in crisis areas of Croatia.{{sfn|Nazor|2007|p=67}} On 9 May, representatives of the [[Federal Executive Council (Yugoslavia)|federal]] and [[Government of Croatia|Croatian]] governments visited Vukovar. Federal representatives visited Borovo Selo, unlike the Croatian government officials who stated they "refused to talk to terrorists".{{sfn|Sučić|2011|p=33}} In response to the Borovo Selo clash, the JNA redeployed a part of the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade from Osijek and the 1st Mechanised Battalion of the 453rd Mechanised Brigade based in [[Sremska Mitrovica]] to the Vukovar area. At the same time, the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 36th Mechanised Brigade was moved from [[Subotica]] to Vinkovci.{{sfn|Marijan|2002|p=368}} Despite the deployment of the JNA in the area, ethnically motivated skirmishes persisted until the start of the [[Battle of Vukovar]] in late August.{{sfn|CIA|2002|p=90}}
+On 8–9 May, the [[Presidency of Yugoslavia]] convened to discuss the events in Borovo Selo and deliberate over a JNA request for military intervention. The presidents of all of Yugoslavia's [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia#Federal units|constituent republics]] were present at the meeting. The Croatian leadership permitted the JNA to be deployed to areas where inter-ethnic tensions were running high.{{sfn|Nazor|2007|p=67}} On 9 May, representatives of the [[Federal Executive Council (Yugoslavia)|federal]] and [[Government of Croatia|Croatian]] governments visited Vukovar. Federal representatives visited Borovo Selo, unlike the Croatian government officials who stated they "refused to talk to terrorists".{{sfn|Sučić|2011|p=33}} In response to the Borovo Selo clash, the JNA redeployed a part of the 12th Proletarian Mechanised Brigade from Osijek and the 1st Mechanised Battalion of the 453rd Mechanised Brigade based in [[Sremska Mitrovica]] to the Vukovar area. At the same time, the 2nd Mechanised Battalion of the 36th Mechanised Brigade was moved from [[Subotica]] to Vinkovci.{{sfn|Marijan|2002|p=368}} Despite the deployment of the JNA in the area, ethnically motivated skirmishes persisted until the start of the [[Battle of Vukovar]] in late August.{{sfn|Central Intelligence Agency|2002|p=90}}
 ===Memorial controversy and prosecution===
 [[File:Memorial in Borovo Selo.JPG|thumb|250px|The Borovo Selo memorial as it appeared prior to 2012]]
-During the 1996–98 [[United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium|United Nations administration]] established pursuant to the [[Erdut Agreement]] to restore the area to Croatian control, three Croatian non-governmental organizations erected a memorial on public property at the entrance to Borovo Selo, but the site was quickly vandalised. A new monument was erected in the centre of the village in 2002, but this was also vandalised soon after completion. A new plaque bearing the names of the 12 Croatian policemen killed in the incident was added to the monument in 2012,{{sfn|Pullan|Baillie|2013|p=122}} but was also subject to vandalism.{{sfn|Glas Slavonije|2 June 2012}} Although the vandalism was condemned by local Serb politicians, they complained that the memorial was offensive to the Serb minority and imposed guilt on the entire community because it branded Serb forces at Borovo Selo in 1991 as "Serb terrorists".{{sfn|Politika Plus|10 May 2012}}
+During the 1996–98 [[United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium|United Nations administration]] established pursuant to the [[Erdut Agreement]] to restore the area to Croatian control, three Croatian non-governmental organisations erected a memorial on public property at the entrance to Borovo Selo, but the site was quickly vandalised. A new monument was erected in the centre of the village in 2002, but this was also vandalised soon after completion. A new plaque bearing the names of the 12 Croatian policemen killed in the incident was added to the monument in 2012,{{sfn|Pullan|Baillie|2013|p=122}} but was also subject to vandalism.{{sfn|Glas Slavonije 2 June 2012}} Although the vandalism was condemned by local Serb politicians, they complained that the memorial was offensive to the Serb minority and imposed guilt on the entire community because it branded Serb forces at Borovo Selo in 1991 as "Serb terrorists".{{sfn|Politika Plus 10 May 2012}}
-In February 2012, an Osijek court convicted Milan Marinković of [[war crimes]] and sentenced him to 3 ½ years in prison for mistreating two captured Croatian police officers.{{sfn|Pavelić|1 February 2012}} In 2014, Marinković's sentence was reduced to three years on appeal.{{sfn|Glas slavonije|14 May 2014}} Four other men were indicted in relation to the officers' mistreatment, but all four live outside Croatia, and are not subject to prosecution by the Croatian judiciary.{{sfn|Pavelić|1 February 2012}}
+In February 2012, an Osijek court convicted Milan Marinković of [[war crimes]] and sentenced him to three-and-a-half years in prison for mistreating two captured Croatian police officers.{{sfn|Pavelić 1 February 2012}} In 2014, Marinković's sentence was reduced to three years on appeal.{{sfn|Glas Slavonije 14 May 2014}} Four other men were indicted in relation to the officers' mistreatment. Since they live outside Croatia, they are not subject to prosecution by the Croatian judiciary.{{sfn|Pavelić 1 February 2012}}
 ==Footnotes==
@@ Line 81: / Line 83: @@
 ;Books
 {{refbegin|40em}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDMhDgCJCe0C|title=Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative|editor1-first=Charles|editor1-last=Ingrao|editor2-first=Thomas A.|editor2-last=Emmert|first1=Mile|last1=Bjelajac|first2=Ozren|last2=Žunec|chapter=The War in Croatia, 1991–1995|pages=232–273|year=2012|publisher=[[Purdue University Press]]|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|isbn=9781557536174}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IDMhDgCJCe0C|title=Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative|editor1-first=Charles|editor1-last=Ingrao|editor2-first=Thomas A.|editor2-last=Emmert|first1=Mile|last1=Bjelajac|first2=Ozren|last2=Žunec|chapter=The War in Croatia, 1991–1995|pages=232–273|year=2012|publisher=[[Purdue University Press]]|location=West Lafayette, Indiana|isbn=9781557536174}}
-*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|CIA|2002}}|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it1IAQAAIAAJ|title=Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|author=[[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Russian and European Analysis|year=2002|oclc=50396958|location=Washington, D.C.}}
+*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Central Intelligence Agency|2002}}|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it1IAQAAIAAJ|title=Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|author=[[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Russian and European Analysis|year=2002|oclc=50396958|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=9780160664724}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZnagDP3gO4C|title=The Yugoslav Drama|first=Mihailo|last=Crnobrnja|publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]]|location=Montreal, Quebec|year=1996|isbn=9780773566156}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZnagDP3gO4C|title=The Yugoslav Drama|first=Mihailo|last=Crnobrnja|publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]]|location=Montreal, Quebec|year=1996|isbn=9780773566156}}
-*{{cite book|last=Čuljak|first=Tihomir|title=Rat|trans-title=War|year=2003|language=Croatian|publisher=|location=Osijek|isbn=953-98383-2-0|url=|ref=harv}}
+*{{cite book|last=Čuljak|first=Tihomir|title=Rat|trans-title=War|year=2003|language=hr|location=Osijek|isbn=953-98383-2-0}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rIGA0rluO0C|title=Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed|first1=Robert J.|last1=Donia|first2=John|last2=Van Antwerp Fine|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]]|location=London, England|year=1994|isbn=9781850652120}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rIGA0rluO0C|title=Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed|first1=Robert J.|last1=Donia|first2=John|last2=Van Antwerp Fine|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]]|location=London, England|year=1994|isbn=9781850652120}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_C6rxHwEkN4C|title=Potentials of Disorder: Explaining Conflict and Stability in the Caucasus and in the Former Yugoslavia|editor1-first=Jan|editor1-last=Koehler|editor2-first=Christoph|editor2-last=Zürcher|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|location=Manchester, England|isbn=9780719062414|year=2003|chapter=Discourses, Actors, Violence: The Organisation of War-Escalation in the Krajina Region of Croatia 1990–91|first1=Hannes|last1=Grandits|first2=Carolin|last2=Leutloff|pages=23–45}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_C6rxHwEkN4C|title=Potentials of Disorder: Explaining Conflict and Stability in the Caucasus and in the Former Yugoslavia|editor1-first=Jan|editor1-last=Koehler|editor2-first=Christoph|editor2-last=Zürcher|publisher=[[Manchester University Press]]|location=Manchester, England|isbn=9780719062414|year=2003|chapter=Discourses, Actors, Violence: The Organisation of War-Escalation in the Krajina Region of Croatia 1990–91|first1=Hannes|last1=Grandits|first2=Carolin|last2=Leutloff|pages=23–45}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=hr&id=oFXdiS25N78C|editor-first=Sabrina P.|editor-last=Ramet|title=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9781139487504|chapter=The War of Yugoslav Succession|first=Marko Attila|last=Hoare|authorlink=Marko Attila Hoare|pages=111–136|location=Cambridge, England}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oFXdiS25N78C|editor-first=Sabrina P.|editor-last=Ramet|title=Central and Southeast European Politics Since 1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9781139487504|chapter=The War of Yugoslav Succession|first=Marko Attila|last=Hoare|author-link=Marko Attila Hoare|pages=111–136|location=Cambridge, England}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4pAs4JYSAMC|title=Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism & the Balkan Wars|first=Paul|last=Hockenos|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|location=Ithaca, New York|year=2003|isbn=9780801441585}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4pAs4JYSAMC|title=Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism & the Balkan Wars|first=Paul|last=Hockenos|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|location=Ithaca, New York|year=2003|isbn=9780801441585}}
-*{{cite book|last=Marijan|first=Davor|title=Bitka za Vukovar|trans-title=Battle of Vukovar|year=2004|language=Croatian|publisher=Hrvatski institut za povijest|location=Zagreb|isbn=9789536324453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6EkPwAACAAJ|ref=harv}}
+*{{cite book|last=Marijan|first=Davor|title=Bitka za Vukovar|trans-title=Battle of Vukovar|year=2004|language=hr|publisher=Hrvatski institut za povijest|location=Zagreb|isbn=9789536324453|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6EkPwAACAAJ}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIDkGPfxQrMC|title=War in the Balkans, 1991–2002|first=R. Craig|last=Nation|publisher=[[Strategic Studies Institute]]|location=Carlisle, Pennsylvania|year=2003|isbn=9781584871347}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIDkGPfxQrMC|title=War in the Balkans, 1991–2002|first=R. Craig|last=Nation|publisher=[[Strategic Studies Institute]]|location=Carlisle, Pennsylvania|year=2003|isbn=9781584871347}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=MB7lUYeIDoKK4ATWqIDAAw&hl=hr&id=rPcVAQAAMAAJ|title=Počeci suvremene hrvatske države: kronologija procesa osamostaljenja Republike Hrvatske: od Memoranduma SANU 1986. do proglašenja neovisnosti 8. listopada 1991|language=Croatian|trans-title=Beginnings of the Modern Croatian State: A Chronology of the Independence of the Republic of Croatia: from 1986 SANU Memorandum to the Declaration of Independence on 8 October 1991|first=Ante|last=Nazor|publisher=Croatian Homeland War Memorial Documentation Centre|location=Zagreb, Croatia|year=2007|isbn=9789537439019}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPcVAQAAMAAJ|title=Počeci suvremene hrvatske države: kronologija procesa osamostaljenja Republike Hrvatske: od Memoranduma SANU 1986. do proglašenja neovisnosti 8. listopada 1991|language=hr|trans-title=Beginnings of the Modern Croatian State: A Chronology of the Independence of the Republic of Croatia: from 1986 SANU Memorandum to the Declaration of Independence on 8 October 1991|first=Ante|last=Nazor|publisher=Croatian Homeland War Memorial Documentation Centre|location=Zagreb, Croatia|year=2007|isbn=9789537439019}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XKYAAAAQBAJ|title=Locating Urban Conflicts: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Everyday|first1=Wendy|last1=Pullan|first2=Britt|last2=Baillie|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=Basingstoke, England|year=2013|isbn=9781137316882}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XKYAAAAQBAJ|title=Locating Urban Conflicts: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Everyday|first1=Wendy|last1=Pullan|first2=Britt|last2=Baillie|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=Basingstoke, England|year=2013|isbn=9781137316882}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXlQaffX3c4C|title=Perception and Reality in the Modern Yugoslav Conflict: Myth, Falsehood and Deceit 1991–1995|first=Brendan|last=O'Shea|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|location=London, England|isbn=9780415650243}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXlQaffX3c4C|title=Perception and Reality in the Modern Yugoslav Conflict: Myth, Falsehood and Deceit 1991–1995|first=Brendan|last=O'Shea|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|location=London, England|isbn=9780415650243}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIFpAAAAMAAJ|title=Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia From the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević|first=Sabrina P.|last=Ramet|publisher=[[Westview Press]]|location=Boulder, Colorado|year=2002|isbn=9780813339870}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIFpAAAAMAAJ|title=Balkan Babel: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia From the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević|first=Sabrina P.|last=Ramet|publisher=[[Westview Press]]|location=Boulder, Colorado|year=2002|isbn=9780813339870}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=hr&id=1QbX90fmCVUC|first=Božo|last=Repe|editor-first=David P.|editor-last=Forsythe|title=Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1|chapter=Balkan Wars|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|year=2009|isbn=9780195334029|pages=138–147}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QbX90fmCVUC|first=Božo|last=Repe|editor-first=David P.|editor-last=Forsythe|title=Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1|chapter=Balkan Wars|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|year=2009|isbn=9780195334029|pages=138–147}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mJNpAAAAMAAJ|title=The death of Yugoslavia|first1=Laura|last1=Silber|first2=Allan|last2=Little|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|location=London, England|year=1996|isbn=9781575000053}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mJNpAAAAMAAJ|title=The Death of Yugoslavia|first1=Laura|last1=Silber|first2=Allan|last2=Little|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|location=London, England|year=1996|isbn=9781575000053}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuGe9fy4raoC|title=Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia|editor1-first=Jasminka|editor1-last=Udovicki|editor2-first=James|editor2-last=Ridgeway|chapter=Croatia: The First War|first=Ejub|last=Štitkovac|pages=154–174|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|location=Durham, North Carolina|year=2000|isbn=9780822325901}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuGe9fy4raoC|title=Burn This House: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia|editor1-first=Jasminka|editor1-last=Udovicki|editor2-first=James|editor2-last=Ridgeway|chapter=Croatia: The First War|first=Ejub|last=Štitkovac|pages=154–174|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|location=Durham, North Carolina|year=2000|isbn=9780822325901}}
-*{{cite book|ref=harv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ih_Is_q4Rz8C|title=Serbia Under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s|first=Robert|last=Thomas|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|location=London, England|year=1999|isbn=9781850653417}}
+*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ih_Is_q4Rz8C|title=Serbia Under Milošević: Politics in the 1990s|first=Robert|last=Thomas|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|location=London, England|year=1999|isbn=9781850653417}}
+*{{cite book|title=Forging War: The Media in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina|first=Mark|last=Thompson|author-link=Mark Thompson (historian)|publisher=University of Luton Press|location=Luton, England|year=1999|isbn=9781860205521}}
 {{refend}}
 ;Scientific journal articles
 {{refbegin|40em}}
-*{{cite journal|ref=harv|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|publisher=Croatian Historical Institute – Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja|issn=1332-4853|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=17412&lang=en|issue=1|volume=2|date=October 2002|language=Croatian|first=Davor|last=Marijan|title=Bitka za Vukovar 1991.|trans-title=Battle of Vukovar|pages=367–402}}
+*{{cite journal|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|publisher=Croatian Historical Institute – Department of History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja|issn=1332-4853|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=17412&lang=en|issue=1|volume=2|date=October 2002|language=hr|first=Davor|last=Marijan|title=Bitka za Vukovar 1991.|trans-title=Battle of Vukovar|pages=367–402}}
-*{{cite journal|ref=harv|journal=Review of Croatian History|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|issn=1845-4380|volume=7|issue=1|date=May 2012|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=126620|first=Davor|last=Marijan|title=The Sarajevo Ceasefire – Realism or strategic error by the Croatian leadership?|pages=103–123}}
+*{{cite journal|journal=Review of Croatian History|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|issn=1845-4380|volume=7|issue=1|date=May 2012|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=126620|first=Davor|last=Marijan|title=The Sarajevo Ceasefire – Realism or strategic error by the Croatian leadership?|pages=103–123}}
-*{{cite journal|ref=harv|journal=National Security and the Future|publisher=St. George Association, Zagreb|issn=1332-4454|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=134460&lang=en|issue=3|volume=12|date=June 2011|title=Značaj obrane Vukovara u stvaranju hrvatske države|language=Croatian|trans-title=Significance of Vukovar Defence in Creation of the Croatian State|first=Stjepan|last=Sučić|pages=11–69}}
+*{{cite journal|journal=National Security and the Future|publisher=St. George Association, Zagreb|issn=1332-4454|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=134460&lang=en|issue=3|volume=12|date=June 2011|title=Značaj obrane Vukovara u stvaranju hrvatske države|language=hr|trans-title=Significance of Vukovar Defence in Creation of the Croatian State|first=Stjepan|last=Sučić|pages=11–69}}
 {{refend}}
 ;News reports
 {{refbegin|40em}}
-*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Glas Slavonije|2 June 2012}} |newspaper=[[Glas Slavonije]] |date=2 June 2012 |first=Sanja |last=Butigan |title=Na spomenik ubijenim redarstvenicima četiri "S" ispisao mladić (20) iz Borova |language=Croatian |trans-title=A 20-Year Old Youth from Borovo Writes Four S-es on the Monument to the Killed Constables |url=http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/168586/8/Na-spomenik-ubijenim-redarstvenicima-cetiri-S-ispisao-mladic-20-iz-Borova |issn=0350-3968 |location=Osijek, Croatia |archivedate=3 November 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103140336/http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/168586/8/Na-spomenik-ubijenim-redarstvenicima-cetiri-S-ispisao-mladic-20-iz-Borova |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}
+*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Glas Slavonije 2 June 2012}} |newspaper=[[Glas Slavonije]] |date=2 June 2012 |first=Sanja |last=Butigan |title=Na spomenik ubijenim redarstvenicima četiri "S" ispisao mladić (20) iz Borova |language=hr |trans-title=A 20-Year Old Youth from Borovo Writes Four S-es on the Monument to the Killed Constables |url=http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/168586/8/Na-spomenik-ubijenim-redarstvenicima-cetiri-S-ispisao-mladic-20-iz-Borova |issn=0350-3968 |location=Osijek, Croatia |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103140336/http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/168586/8/Na-spomenik-ubijenim-redarstvenicima-cetiri-S-ispisao-mladic-20-iz-Borova |url-status=live |df=dmy }}
-*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Nacional|13 February 2009}} |newspaper=[[Nacional (weekly)|Nacional]] |date=13 February 2009 |first=Martina |last=Čizmić |title=Josip Boljkovac: Hrvatska je prva napala Srbe |language=Croatian |trans-title=Josip Boljkovac: Croatia Attacked Serbs First |url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/53359/josip-boljkovac-hrvatska-je-prva-napala-srbe |issn=1331-8209 |location=Zagreb, Croatia |archivedate=4 November 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104031117/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/53359/josip-boljkovac-hrvatska-je-prva-napala-srbe |deadurl=yes |df=dmy-all |access-date=24 September 2013 }}
+*{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Nacional 13 February 2009}} |newspaper=[[Nacional (weekly)|Nacional]] |date=13 February 2009 |first=Martina |last=Čizmić |title=Josip Boljkovac: Hrvatska je prva napala Srbe |language=hr |trans-title=Josip Boljkovac: Croatia Attacked Serbs First |url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/53359/josip-boljkovac-hrvatska-je-prva-napala-srbe |issn=1331-8209 |location=Zagreb, Croatia |archive-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104031117/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/53359/josip-boljkovac-hrvatska-je-prva-napala-srbe |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |access-date=24 September 2013 }}
-*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Politika Plus|10 May 2012}} |publisher=Politika Plus |date=10 May 2012 |first=Vanja |last=Deželić |title=Puhovski: Spomen ploča u Borovu Selu osuđuje srpske teroriste, a ne Srbe kao manjinu |trans-title=Puhovski: Borovo Selo Memorial Plaque Condemns Serb Terrorists Rather Than Serbs as a Minority |language=Croatian |url=http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/56681/puhovski-spomen-ploca-u-borovu-selu-osuduje-srpske-teroriste-a-ne-srbe-kao-manjinu |location=Zagreb, Croatia |archivedate=3 November 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103225806/http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/56681/puhovski-spomen-ploca-u-borovu-selu-osuduje-srpske-teroriste-a-ne-srbe-kao-manjinu |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}
+*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Politika Plus 10 May 2012}} |publisher=Politika Plus |date=10 May 2012 |first=Vanja |last=Deželić |title=Puhovski: Spomen ploča u Borovu Selu osuđuje srpske teroriste, a ne Srbe kao manjinu |trans-title=Puhovski: Borovo Selo Memorial Plaque Condemns Serb Terrorists Rather Than Serbs as a Minority |language=hr |url=http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/56681/puhovski-spomen-ploca-u-borovu-selu-osuduje-srpske-teroriste-a-ne-srbe-kao-manjinu |location=Zagreb, Croatia |archive-date=3 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103225806/http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/56681/puhovski-spomen-ploca-u-borovu-selu-osuduje-srpske-teroriste-a-ne-srbe-kao-manjinu |url-status=live |df=dmy }}
-*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Pavelić|1 February 2012}}|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=1 February 2012|first=Boris|last=Pavelić|title=Milan Marinkovic Sentenced for War Crimes in Borovo Selo|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/milan-marinkovic-sentenced-for-war-crimes-in-borovo-selo|archivedate=17 August 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420100700/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/milan-marinkovic-sentenced-for-war-crimes-in-borovo-selo|deadurl=no}}
+*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|Pavelić 1 February 2012}}|publisher=Balkan Insight|date=1 February 2012|first=Boris|last=Pavelić|title=Milan Marinkovic Sentenced for War Crimes in Borovo Selo|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/milan-marinkovic-sentenced-for-war-crimes-in-borovo-selo|archive-date=20 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420100700/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/milan-marinkovic-sentenced-for-war-crimes-in-borovo-selo|url-status=live}}
-*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Jutarnji list|11 February 2009}}|newspaper=Jutarnji list|first=Tomislav|last=Prusina|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/arhiva/jaman-boljkovac-laze/4010457/|title=Jaman: Boljkovac laže|trans-title=Jaman: Boljkovac is lying|date=11 February 2009}}
+*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Jutarnji list 11 February 2009}}|newspaper=Jutarnji list|first=Tomislav|last=Prusina|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/arhiva/jaman-boljkovac-laze/4010457/|title=Jaman: Boljkovac laže|trans-title=Jaman: Boljkovac is lying|date=11 February 2009}}
-*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|24sata.hr|2 May 2014}}|newspaper=24sata.hr|first=Danijela|last=Mikola|url=http://www.24sata.hr/news/nitko-nije-kaznjen-u-borovu-selu-ubijeno-12-redarstvenika-364751|title=Nitko nije kažnjen: U Borovu Selu ubijeno 12 redarstvenika|trans-title=No Justice: 12 Police Officers Killed in Borovo Selo|date=2 May 2014}}
+*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|24sata.hr 2 May 2014}}|newspaper=24sata.hr|first=Danijela|last=Mikola|url=http://www.24sata.hr/news/nitko-nije-kaznjen-u-borovu-selu-ubijeno-12-redarstvenika-364751|title=Nitko nije kažnjen: U Borovu Selu ubijeno 12 redarstvenika|trans-title=No Justice: 12 Police Officers Killed in Borovo Selo|date=2 May 2014}}
-*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times|19 August 1990}} |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |agency=[[Reuters]] |title=Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts |date=19 August 1990 |location=New York City |issn=0362-4331 |archivedate=21 September 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063029/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |deadurl=no |df=dmy }}
+*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The New York Times 19 August 1990}} |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |agency=[[Reuters]] |title=Roads Sealed as Yugoslav Unrest Mounts |date=19 August 1990 |location=New York City |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063029/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/19/world/roads-sealed-as-yugoslav-unrest-mounts.html |url-status=live |df=dmy }}
-*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Glas slavonije|14 May 2014}}|newspaper=Glas slavonije|url=http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/235143/8/Tri-godine-zatvora-za-mucenje-hrvatskih-redarstvenika-1991|title=Tri godine zatvora za mučenje hrvatskih redarstvenika 1991.|trans-title=Three years in prison for the torture of two Croatian policemen in 1991|date=14 May 2014|deadurl=no}}
+*{{cite news|ref={{harvid|Glas Slavonije 14 May 2014}}|newspaper=[[Glas Slavonije]]|url=http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/235143/8/Tri-godine-zatvora-za-mucenje-hrvatskih-redarstvenika-1991|title=Tri godine zatvora za mučenje hrvatskih redarstvenika 1991.|trans-title=Three years in prison for the torture of two Croatian policemen in 1991|date=14 May 2014}}
 {{refend}}
 ;Other sources
 {{refbegin|40em}}
-*{{cite web |ref={{harvid|MUP|2008}} |url=http://www.mup.hr/10351.aspx |language=Croatian |title=Memorijal 12 redarstvenika, 2008. |trans-title=12 Constables Memorial, 2008 |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Croatia)]] |year=2008 |archivedate=25 September 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925052113/http://www.mup.hr/10351.aspx |deadurl=yes |df=dmy }}
+*{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Ministry of the Interior 2008}}|url=http://www.mup.hr/10351.aspx |language=hr |title=Memorijal 12 redarstvenika, 2008. |trans-title=12 Constables Memorial, 2008 |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Croatia)]] |year=2008 |archive-date=25 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925052113/http://www.mup.hr/10351.aspx |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}
-*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY|12 June 2007}}|title=The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf|publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|date=12 June 2007|format=PDF}}
+*{{cite web|ref={{harvid|ICTY 12 June 2007}}|title=The Prosecutor vs. Milan Martic – Judgement|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/martic/tjug/en/070612.pdf|publisher=[[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]]|date=12 June 2007}}
 {{refend}}
 {{Wars and battles involving Croatia}}
+{{Wars and battles involving Serbs}}
 {{Yugoslav wars}}
@@ Line 135: / Line 139: @@
 [[Category:1991 in Croatia]]
 [[Category:Battles of the Croatian War of Independence]]
-[[Category:Battles involving Yugoslavia]]
+[[Category:Battles of the Yugoslav Wars]]
 [[Category:Battles involving Serbia]]
-[[Category:May 1991 events in Europe]]
+[[Category:May 1991 events in Yugoslavia]]
+[[Category:History of Vukovar-Srijem County]]
+[[Category:Eastern Slavonia Front]]