.png)
Zagreb - Top Croatian state officials attended a ceremony in Okučani on Wednesday, marking the 24th anniversary of a combined military and police offensive, known as Operation Flash, which ended nearly four years of Serb occupation of the Western Slavonia region.
The ceremony in Okučani was attended by President and Armed Forces Supreme Commander Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, Interior Minister Davor Božinovic, Veterans Minister Tomo Medved and other top officials.
The operation was launched on May 1 and ended on May 3, 1995. During less than 32 hours Croatian troops and police regained control of 500 square kilometres of land, including the main west-east motorway and the railway line leading to Eastern Slavonia.
About 7,200 troops and police officers took part in the liberation of Western Slavonia, of whom 42 were killed and 162 wounded. It was the first time during the 1991-1995 Homeland War that the Croatian Air Force had used airstrikes on a larger scale, and the enemy was further surprised by tanks that were brought in by rail and deployed in combat.
Okučani is located about 130 kilometres southeast of Zagreb. During the war it was the centre of the Serb rebellion and a staging area for terrorist attacks in Western Slavonia.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited Okučani,on Tuesday on the eve of the 24th anniversary of Operation Flash.