32 years ago, Sarajevo heroes offered fierce resistance to the aggressor, three defenders died in the Pofalići battle

(Patria) - 32 years have passed since the famous Pofalići battle codenamed Grom. It was a decisive battle for Sarajevo. Members of the former JNA and Serbian paramilitary formations attempted on May 16, 1992, to cut through the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes the Patria news agency.

When on May 15, 1992, at 13:30, the commander of the Serbian police in Novo Sarajevo, Lazo Bojanić, gave an ultimatum to the Bosniaks of the Sarajevo settlement of Pofalići to surrender their weapons, no one suspected that the next day a battle would take place that many would rank among the most significant and decisive battles during the defense of RBiH.

The plan of the Serbian aggressor was to cut Sarajevo in half through Novo Sarajevo, connecting the Žuč - Pofalići line with the then Marshal Tito barracks and Grbavica, which is 500 meters from the barracks as the crow flies.

Thanks to the Municipal Staff of the Territorial Defense of Novo Sarajevo, units and patriots, the Regional Staff, and the coordination between the Municipal Staff and the Supreme Command and units, the cutting of the city was prevented.

At dawn on May 16, 1992, an hour earlier than the aggressor expected, the defenders of Sarajevo thwarted this intention. Although less armed, they prevented the city from being cut in half.

The defenders of Sarajevo managed to break through to Plavi granap and stopped around 11 AM because they were met with fierce resistance. After several hours of uncertainty, the fighters from Pofalići and Velešići consolidated and destroyed a strong machine-gun nest at Cvijetića pekari. In the final phase of the Pofalići battle, 11 fighters who came to assist, commanded by Samir Pezo, played a significant role. Around the early evening hours, the company of Alija Prazine managed to be unblocked.

Serbian soldiers retreated via Orlić and Žuč towards Vogošća and Rajlovac, and some of them took off their uniforms and managed to escape to Vraca via Dolac Malta. During the night, most of the participants in the Pofalići battle returned home, so only a small number of Pofalići fighters guarded the liberated positions. If they had known this, Lazo Bojanić's soldiers could have easily recaptured the lost positions in a counter-offensive during the night.

In the Pofalići battle, the defenders of Sarajevo Edin Krako Deba, Miralem Miradžija, and Muris Đelkić Čičak died.

Two detachments from Pofalići and Velešići of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), in coordination with parts of the First Sarajevo Detachment, a group of fighters from Buća Potok, the special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RBiH, the Military Police unit, and smaller groups of fighters from other parts of Sarajevo, launched an attack on Serbian positions.

The ARBiH fighters were opposed by the Pofalići Brigade of the VRS, which numbered about 1,700 members, the paramilitary formation White Eagles with 380 members, about 100 "Serbian policemen," and a group of the paramilitary formation Vukodlaci.

Serbian forces suffered a heavy defeat in the settlement of Pofalići, and conditions were created for the ARBiH to advance towards the strategically important Žuč plateau north of Sarajevo.