On the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the Croatian Army’s offensive against the rebels in Slavonia, Serbs commemorated the victims in Gradiska, in north-western Bosnia, part of the Republika Srpska entity.

The memorial service was held outside the Holy Mother Church and wreaths were laid at the plaque and then some  thrown into the Sava river.

On May 1, 1995, Croatian Army launched a two-day offensive named the Flash (Bljesak) to retake chunks of its territory held by rebel Serbs for four years.

The offensive lasted two days and left dead and wounded on both sides, with some 15,000 Serbs fleeing the area in fear for life.

In Gradiska, Milorad Dodik, the Presdient of Republika Srpska, said that the Serbs should be united and keep their two states – Serbia and Republika Srpska – safe, since “if they do not have a state, they are not free” people.