Croatia will on Thursday celebrate the national holiday called Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and Homeland Defence War Veterans' Day which commemorates a Croatian military victory in Operation Storm in August 1995 when Croatia regained control of most of its occupied territory.
Operation Storm marked the end of the war in Croatia, created conditions for the peaceful reintegration of the Danube River Region in the east, spared Bosnia's Bihac from the fate of Srebrenica, and enabled the return of refugees and the displaced.
The 5 August 1995 liberation of the southern Croatian town of Knin carried special significance because since the summer of 1990 this town had been the centre and symbol of the rebellion of local Serbs.
The rebellion began with the blocking of roads with logs and in time turned into attacks on Croatian towns and villages as well as the killing and expulsion of non-Serbs. Local Serbs were helped by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), while troops and weaponry also came from Serbia and Montenegro.
The politically and economically untenable situation for Croatia was changed with the military and police operation which began at 5 am on 4 August 1995, a Friday, and in only 84 hours liberated close to 10,500 square kilometres or one-fifth of the national territory.
In attendance at this year's state ceremonies in Knin will be President Ivo Josipovic, Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.
The 15th anniversary of Operation Storm will be marked elsewhere in the country as well.
