Source: https://kamenjar.com/13-listopada-1991- ... elo-ravno/

Translation courtesy of Google...

October 13, 1991: When the Croatian village of Ravno was burned and razed to the ground



In the first half of October 1991, Yugoslav People's Army units and reservists from Herzegovina and Montenegro attacked the Croatian village of Ravno, in the Trebinje municipality, in the hinterland of Dubrovnik, only to be completely razed to the ground.

This is how the Greater Serbia aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina actually began, at a time when Croatia, despite numerous armistices, was frantically defending itself against the general offensive of the Serbianized army.

The reason for this crime was fabricated, as in the case of many other places. The JNA announced that a "strong Ustasha stronghold" had been destroyed, although there were no able-bodied or combat-capable people in Ravno.

The destruction of that Croatian village in eastern Herzegovina was part of the JNA's strategic plan to encircle Dubrovnik, which was to be taken from Croatia and annexed to Greater Serbia by Slobodan Milosevic. To this end, JNA tanks were buried in the field between Ravno and Zavala in mid-September.

When, on October 1, 1991, near Ćepikuće, the Serb and Montenegrin reservists were severely defeated by a small number of Croatian defenders, their broken units turned on Ravno.

Many houses were looted and set on fire, and part of the inhabitants were taken to Trebinje.

Three days later, Serbian artillery shelled Ravno. Most of the remaining inhabitants fled to the surrounding hills. Many who remained were killed when infantry entered the village. The anger of the JNA is also shown by the fact that a Serbian captain killed four of his own soldiers when they refused to demolish the church tower in Ravno with a cannon. From October 11 to 13, it continued to destroy villages, house by house, leaving behind complete devastation.

The leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo kept silent about this Serbian crime. Moreover, it declared neutrality in the war, which was allegedly "not their war", although its later expansion would bring the most casualties to Bosnia and Herzegovina. After eight months of occupation, the village of Ravno was liberated in a quick rush by units of the Croatian Defense Council, writes braniteljski-portal.com

Source: https://croativ.net/srpski-zlocini-u-op ... ine-24677/

Serb crimes in the municipality of Ravno in 1991

On October 1, 1991, Serbs and Montenegrins set out to conquer the Dubrovnik littoral and Dubrovnik. On October 1, 1991, the JNA destroyed the Croatian village of Ravno in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alija Izetbegović, President of the Presidency of BiH, did not condemn the aggression against the Croat village in BiH. He addressed the residents of BiH on TV Sarajevo: “I will let everyone know that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not want to be a participant in this senseless act. Based on the above and the conclusions you know, the decision of the Presidency on mobilization is your right and duty, the citizens of BiH, not to respond to the mobilization, nor to the invitation to participate in the civil war. You are not obliged, remember, nothing obliges you to raise your hands to each other, to shoot at each other… Remember, this is not our war. Let him be led by those who want to lead him. We don't want that war. Therefore, help us to do everything together with us to preserve a peaceful Bosnia. ”(October 6, 1991).

Alija Izetbegović did not condemn the demolition of the village and war crimes!

At the time of the statement, the JNA and reservists from Montenegro had already occupied the dominant heights on the south and east sides of Mostar (Hum, Gubavica and Fortica).

In the Croatian village of Ravno, located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there was no able-bodied population or armed groups. JNA lieutenant colonel Đuro Komšić, who led the attack on Ravno, spoke for Montenegrin television about the destruction of Ravno:

Reporter: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, tell us, Ravno… village is here in front of us. There are cannons, howitzers, tell us from which tools all the fire is opened. "

Lieutenant Colonel Komšić: "What is beating the village of Ravno now is the Valjevo artillery unit" and a little while ago, you saw, a cannon unit was firing. We have a lot of losses in the village of Ravno and that is why we have taken these measures today to target the village of Ravno. "

Reporter: "From everything that can be seen, it seems that there are no Croatian forces in the village…"

Lieutenant Colonel Komsic: "You know what? They hide, in basements, in cellars, they go out at night so they surprise us. However, we will take further measures so that we keep this village under control and under fire. "

Reporter: "Tell me what's next?"

Lieutenant Colonel Komšić: "This will be followed by a clean-up operation, I believe that our units will destroy this village as well."

In the area of ​​the municipality of Ravno, Serbs committed a war crime in October and November 1991, killing 23 civilians and one member of the HVO (Davor Marijan et al.).

After eight months and the occupation, units of the Croatian Defense Council, the Croatian Army and the Croatian Armed Forces liberated the village of Ravno in June ’92, as part of the June Dawn operation.

Sources:

Davor Marijan, Ante Nazor, Zlatan Mijo Jelic, Petar Kolakusic. Homeland War and Crimes against Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1991-1995, Books I and II Croatian Bells Association and Croatian Homeland War Memorial and Documentation Center, Zagreb-Mostar, January 2020

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN!

Dr. Marko Jukić