Croatia today commemorates a combined military and police operation, dubbed Operation Flash, by which it regained control of the Serb-occupied Western Slavonia region during the Homeland War 26 years ago.

In a lightning offensive launched on 1 May 1995, in less than 32 hours about 7,200 Croatian soldiers and police officers liberated about 600 square kilometres of the Croatian territory that had been under occupation for four years.

The commemoration began in the morning at the monument in Okucani, about 130 kilometres southeast of Zagreb, with the reading of the names of those killed in the operation.

Wreaths were laid by President Zoran Milanovic, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and their delegations as well as by delegations of veterans’ associations and families of those killed.