Sinj Marks 35th Anniversary of Attack on JNA Barracks and Fallen Defenders
On Tuesday, August 25, tribute will be paid to fallen defenders and the first attack on JNA barracks in Croatia, marking the beginning of aggression on the Cetina region.
On Tuesday, August 25, tribute will be paid to fallen defenders and the first attack on JNA barracks in Croatia, marking the beginning of aggression on the Cetina region.
On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Sinj will mark the 35th anniversary of the attack on the barracks of the former JNA, the first such attack in the Republic of Croatia. The organizers are HVIDR-a Sinj and the Coordination of Veterans' Associations of Sinj and the Cetina region, and the program includes laying wreaths, lighting candles, and a thanksgiving Holy Mass.
On this day in 1991, in the early morning hours, a joint attack by the JNA and Serbian paramilitary units began on Kijevo and Vrlika. The attack was led by war criminal Ratko Mladić, who was then operating under the guise of the JNA.
In response to the Greater Serbian aggression, on the same day at around 1:30 PM, Croatian defenders attacked the JNA barracks 'Kula' and 'Tadija Anušić' in Sinj and blocked the military training ground 'Kukuzovac'. In these battles, defenders and Croatian volunteers Ivan Kamber from Ruda and Luka Erceg from Otok were killed.
In the battles in the Vrlika area on August 25 and 26, 1991, five more defenders were killed: Ante Barać from Zelovo, Ivo Lelas from Vrlika, Ilija Perajica from Livno, Ivan Tomaš from Trogir, and Frane Jurić Arambašić from Kijevo.
The HVIDR-a Sinj association and the Coordination of Veterans' Associations of Sinj and the Cetina region mark this day with dignity every year, paying tribute to all those who gave their lives for an independent Republic of Croatia.
The program begins with laying wreaths and lighting candles at 8:30 AM for Ivan Kamber at the '126th Brigade HV' barracks (formerly Kula). At 9:00 AM, wreaths will be laid for Luka Erceg at the Ivaniš Nelipić barracks.
At 9:30 AM, wreath-laying continues at the Memorial Park of Croatian Defenders in front of the City Administration building, and at 9:45 AM in front of the bust of the first President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tuđman, on the town square bearing his name in Sinj.
The commemoration concludes with a thanksgiving Holy Mass for the Homeland and deceased Croatian defenders at 10:00 AM at the Basilica of the Miraculous Lady of Sinj.
