AVDALOVIĆ: MITROVDAN BATTLES DETERMINED VICTOR

NEVESINJE, NOVEMBER 8 /SRNA/ – The Mitrovdan battles of 1992 and 1994 on the Mostar–Nevesinje front were crucial for the defence of Nevesinje and Eastern Herzegovina and determined the final victor, the Mayor of Nevesinje, Milenko Avdalović, stated in his SRNA interview ahead of the Mitrovdan /Saint Demetrius Day/ marking.

Avdalović emphasized the immeasurable contribution of the Mitrovdan battles, describing them as fateful and decisive.

"After the first Mitrovdan offensive, the winner of the war could already be sensed, and with the victory of the Serb army in the second Mitrovdan offensive, the southern borders of Republika Srpska were confirmed," Avdalović stated.

On the occasion of Mitrovdan – the Day of Nevesinje Municipality and the patron saint day of the Republika Srpska War Veterans Organisation /BORS/ – a two-day commemoration is being held in Nevesinje in remembrance of the Mitrovdan battles of 1992 and 1994.

Mitrovdan is commemorated in Nevesinje with special reverence and a sense of responsibility.

Avdalović pointed out that the local community, the municipal War Veterans Organisation, the Republika Srpska War Veterans Organisation, and the Ministry of Labour, War Veterans and Disabled Persons Protection mark Saint Demetrius Day each year with special care and responsibility.

"We remember the glorious victories of the Republika Srpska Army, which in 1992 defeated an enemy that was many times larger and better armed, as well as in 1994, when a different method of combat was applied and when the enemy entered the area of responsibility of the Nevesinje Brigade," Avdalović recalled.

Today, on Mitrovdan, veterans and friends from all over come to Nevesinje. Avdalović said that everyone who contributed to the battle comes—from Belgrade, Prijepolje, Nikšić, and other parts of Herzegovina.

He noted that everyone takes part in the commemoration, from kindergarten children and elementary and high school students to all city institutions, in order to mark this historic event in a dignified manner.

The First Mitrovdan Battle was one of the largest in the Defensive and Patriotic War, as 3,500 members of the Nevesinje Brigade defeated enemy forces five times stronger.

The opposing units consisted of the Croatian Army, HVO, and the so-called Army of BiH, which, with 15,000 soldiers and strong artillery support, launched an attack on Nevesinje with the aim of linking up with Dubrovnik and reaching the Yugoslav border.

A total of 476 soldiers of the Nevesinje Brigade made up of soldiers from Nevesinje, the Neretva Valley, and a unit from Bileća, gave their lives defending Republika Srpska. In the Mitrovdan offensive, Nevesinje and Republika Srpska were also defended by soldiers of the 2nd Light Infantry Brigade from Borak.

For its military merits in the Mitrovdan and other battles, the Nevesinje Brigade was the first in Republika Srpska to be awarded the highest military decoration - the Order of the Nemanjići.