Operation Neretva '93

Part of the Croat–Bosniak War

Date	September–October 1993
Location	Herzegovina, Lašva Valley
Result	Stalemate, operation halted

Belligerents

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

Commanders and leaders

Sefer Halilović

Zulfikar Ališpago

Enver Buza

Unknown

Units involved

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatian Defence Council

Strength

5,000-7,000 soldiers

Unknown

Casualties and losses

Around 60 Croat civilians, combatants and POWs

External image
Operation Neretva '93 Map in Colour (courtesy of the ICTY)

Operation Neretva '93 was an Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) operation against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) in September 1993 on a 200 km long front from Gornji Vakuf to south of Mostar, one of its largest of the year, on areas which were included in the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. The ARBiH did not achieve its objective to break through to southern Neretva valley and defeat the HVO in Herzegovina. During the operation dozens of Croat civilians were killed in the Grabovica and Uzdol massacres.

After most of Gornji Vakuf was captured by the ARBiH in August 1993, the fighting turned towards Prozor where Croat and Bosniak forces fought during the previous months in nearby villages. Neither had full control of the area so both sides spent August and September in fighting along the hills and ridges near Prozor.

In September 1993, the Bosnian Government mounted the Neretva Operation, one of its most complex efforts to date, against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO). Units from the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) were subordinated to Sefer Halilović for the operation. The ARBiH troops launched coordinated attacks against Croat-held enclaves in the Lašva Valley and on the entire confrontation line from south of Gornji Vakuf to Jablanica, through Mostar and further southward to the Buna River. Units of the 9th Brigade, the 10th Brigade and the 2nd Independent Battalion, all subordinated to the ARBiH 1st Corps, were sent from Sarajevo to the Jablanica sector. In the Vitez area, one of the center points of the operation, during a simultaneous attack from the north and south, at one point the ARBiH broke through HVO lines in Vitez, but were ultimately forced back.

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