1992 European Community Monitor Mission helicopter downing
The Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija – JNA) confiscated Croatia's Territorial Defence (Teritorijalna obrana - TO) weapons to minimize resistance.[1] On 17 August, the tensions escalated into an open revolt by Croatian Serbs,[2] centered on the predominantly Serb-populated areas of the Dalmatian hinterland around Knin,[3] parts of the Lika, Kordun, Banovina and eastern Croatia.[7] In early April, the leaders of the Croatian Serb revolt declared their intention to integrate the area under their control, known as SAO Krajina, with Serbia.[14] On 8 October, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia,[15] and a month later the ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska - HV).[9] The fiercest fighting of the war occurred around this time, when the 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia culminated in the Siege of Dubrovnik,[16] and the Battle of Vukovar.[20] On 7 January 1992, a pair of Italian Army Agusta-Bell AB-206L LongRanger helicopters operated by ECMM observers entered Croatian air space from Hungary.[27] The crash site was toured by the police, ECMM staff and journalists,[29] and EC representatives visited Belgrade to receive a report on the incident from Yugoslav authorities.[35] His account is contradicted by crash scene eyewitnesses,[29] as well as Željava Air Base radar data, both of which indicate that only two aircraft were flying to Zagreb.He was ultimately extradited to Italy in June 2002, where he was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in prison for five counts of homicide and causing an aircraft disaster.[36] In 2013, the Appeals Court in Rome tried Opačić, General Ljubomir Bajić, commander of the 5th Aviation Corps, and Colonel Božidar Martinović, head of the Yugoslav Air Defence operational centre in Belgrade in absentia for the attack.[37] Eychenne was posthumously promoted to lieutenant commander effective 7 January 1992, and attributed Mort pour la France on 14 April of the same year.
Croatian War of IndependencePodruteKaposvárVaraždinZagrebNovi MarofŽeljava Air BaseYugoslav Air ForceEuropean CommunityCroatian War of IndependencePakracPlitvice LakesBorovo SeloZadar riotSplit protestStingerHrvatska KostajnicaKijevoLabradorBanija villagesVukovarMassacreBrđaniOsijekGospićPetrinjaKusonjeKorana bridgeThe BarracksBjelovarŠibenikJNA campaignDubrovnikCerićBanski DvoriŠiroka KulaBogdanovciErnestinovoBaćinSaborskoLibertas convoyPožegaSwath 10Dalmatian channels KostrićiŠkabrnjaAntunovacVance planWhirlwindPaulin DvorGornje JameOrkan 91VoćinJoševicaDevil's BeamBruškaVrsar airportSarajevoBaranjaJackalMiljevci PlateauLiberated LandKonavleVlašticaMaslenicaMedak PocketAngelaWinter '94Leap 1MedariLeap 2Summer '95KomićKijaniGolubićUzdoljeBosanski Petrovac bombingGruboriGošićMaestral 2VarivodeVukovar '95Timeline of all major eventsLog RevolutionEvents in SerbiaEuropean Community Monitor MissionobserversMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21Croatianon-commissioned officersUnited Nations Security CouncilYugoslavGeneralVeljko KadijevićLieutenanttried in absentia1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatiaelectoral defeatSocialist Republic of CroatiaYugoslav People's ArmyTerritorial Defenceopen revoltCroatian SerbsDalmatianKordunBanovinaeastern CroatiaPakrac clashCroatian special policeSAO KrajinaCroatian governmentCroatian National GuardUnited Nationsarms embargoBrioni AgreementTen-Day WarSloveniaSlavoniaCroatia declared independence from YugoslaviaCroatian ArmySiege of DubrovnikBattle of VukovarUnited Nations Protected Areasdiplomatic recognitionAustrian Armed ForcesČakovec