VIDEO: 21 years ago, the forces of Fikret Abdić were defeated, Velika Kladuša liberated

On this day 21 years ago, the then Bihać District was officially unblocked, as confirmed by General Atif Dudaković and Commander Marijan Mareković on the Korana River. The Fifth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of a total of seven corps in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Patria reports.

It was formed in and around Bihać, and managed to protect the city from the incursion of Serbian forces. Battles were also fought against the secessionist forces of Fikret Abdić, who closely cooperated with the Serbian and Croatian military-political leaderships.

The Fifth Corps ultimately defeated Abdić's forces and on August 6, 1995, liberated Velika Kladuša, after which it also defeated Serbian forces and liberated Bosanski Petrovac, Ključ and Bosanska Krupa, and together with the Seventh Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina liberated Sanski Most.

On that August 6, 1995, the fighters of the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina liberated Velika Kladuša, thereby ending the activity of the self-proclaimed phantom autonomous region "Western Bosnia", under the leadership of war criminal and traitor to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fikret Abdić, writes Historija.ba.

On the same day, the commander of the 5th Corps, Atif Dudaković, and Croatian General Marijan Mareković shook hands on a bridge over the Korana River, thereby linking the forces of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Croatian Army, and the then Bihać District was officially unblocked.

The Fifth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had 618 officers, 829 non-commissioned officers, 8,705 soldiers, totaling 10,152 men.