33rd ANNIVERSARY SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST MILITARY POLICE COMPANY MARKED

DOBOJ, DECEMBER 27 /SRNA/ – The War Veterans Association of the First Military Police Company, whose members were among the first to stand in defence of the homeland in the battle to defend Doboj, organised a wreath-laying ceremony today for 20 fallen comrades, marking 33 years since the establishment of the unit.

Former member of the company Dragan Kitanović told the press that in this way they proved they have not forgotten their comrades who gave their lives in laying the foundations of Republika Srpska.

He recalled that 150 soldiers passed through the First Military Police Company, and singled out Ozren as one of the most difficult battlefields, where the largest number of them were killed during the fighting to defend Podsjelovo.

Kitanović pointed out that the zone was controlled by local Muslim forces and foreign Islamist fighters from the El Mujahideen detachment, which operated within the Third Corps of the so-called Army of BiH.

A memorial service was held for the fallen, while Doboj City Assembly Speaker Zoran Blagojević emphasized that the creators of Republika Srpska, especially members of this unit, which made a significant contribution to the defence of Doboj during the Defensive-Patriotic War, must not be forgotten.

The First Military Police Company suffered its heaviest losses in Podsjelovo on Mount Ozren in 1995, during fighting with the El Mujahideen detachment as part of preparations by the so-called Army of BiH to seize Vozuća, an area inhabited by Serbs. At that time, nine soldiers were killed and 25 wounded.