| Operacija Star '94 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theBosnian War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 13,000 – 14,000[1] | 8,000[2] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
Operation Star '94 (Serbian: Operacija Zvezda '94) is the code name for the operation of theArmy of Republika Srpska (VRS) in the spring of 1994, inGornje Podrinje.[5] The goal of the operation was to force the political leadership of theRepublic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to negotiate the signing of an armistice by capturingGoražde.[6]
The wider area ofGoražde, moving clockwise, was held by the brigades of the Sarajevo-Romanija, Drina and Herzegovina Corps. On the main, southeastern direction, there was a mixed Herzegovinian brigade (one battalion from each brigade of the Herzegovinian corps) and two brigade detachments of the Special Police Brigade; the reserve and flank were the 3rd and 4th Podrinja brigades, and the 11th Herzegovina brigade.[7] Communication betweenSarajevo andGoražde was monitored by the 7th reconnaissance-sabotage detachment. Fire support was provided by one armored battalion and two artillery divisions. The Drina tactical group, which consisted of the Rogatic, 3rd and 5th Podrinja brigades, as well as mixed-composition units drawn from other brigades of the Drina corps, attacked from the north.[8] On the western side, the line towards the front was held by four battalions of the Sarajevo-Romanijan Corps (fromPale,Jahorina and Prača). All together, theVRS had 13,000 - 14,000 fighters at their disposal. Commanding the operation was entrusted to the commander of the Herzegovina Corps, Major General Radovan Grubac. On the other hand, Colonel Ferid Buljubasic, the commander of the East Bosnian operational group of theARBiH, commanded about 8,000 soldiers armed mostly with infantry weapons.
In the northern direction, the Drina tactical group broke through on April 7 about two kilometers deep.[8] In the southeastern direction, the Herzegovinian tactical group managed to capture the village ofZupčići on April 8, penetrating six kilometers into the enemy's rear.[9] In the next 5-7 days, theVRS temporarily halts the operation due toNATO airstrikes.[9] On April 15, the operation continued, and in three days the VRS managed to break the line of defense of theARBiH and captured the most important elevations aroundGoražde.[9] The demilitarization of Goražde was agreed upon in negotiations with UNPROFOR.[10]