Foreign fighters in the Croatian War of Independence
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The Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) is said to have attracted "mercenaries, adventurers and idealists", most joining the Croatian side.
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Croatian side
Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also the diaspora, joined the Croatian side. The war attracted 'mercenaries, adventurers and idealists', most of whom joined the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS), the paramilitary wing of the Croatian Party of Rights, at the beginning of the war. An interview with mercenaries was published in The Times in November 1991. Many extreme right volunteers from Western Europe, mainly from Germany, joined the HOS. Although Russians mainly volunteered on the Serb side, the small neo-Nazi "Werewolf" unit fought on the Croat side. The Croatian Army's "First International Brigade" based outside Osijek that consisted of 100 men had about half of the ranks being foreigners from France, Switzerland, Hungary, Portugal, Britain, Australia, the United States and Spain.
Yugoslav Albanians joined the Croatian Army in the war. There is a veterans organization (Udruga Albanaca branitelja Hrvatske u Domovinskom ratu) of these. It is estimated by that veterans organization that 3,000 ethnic Albanians fought in the Croatian Army, out of whom 87 died. The Community of Associations of Volunteers (Zajednice udruga dragovoljaca Domovinskoga rata) registered 2,579 Albanians fighting in the Croatian Army in 1991. Albanian President Bujar Nishani gave the Albanian veterans organization an order. Among notable Kosovo Albanians that fought in the Croatian Army were Rahim Ademi (ranked brigadier-general), Agim Çeku (ranked general), and Bekim Berisha.
Serb side
There were around 700 former JNA officers, mostly from Serbia and Montenegro, that fought on the Serb side. Foreign fighters were mostly from Russia.
Notable people
- Bekim Berisha, Kosovo Albanian, HV
- Rahim Ademi, Kosovo Albanian, HV
- Agim Çeku, Kosovo Albanian, HV
- Thomas Crowley, Irish, HOS Template:KIA
- Jean-Michel Nicolier, French, HOS Template:KIA
- Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, Hungarian, HV
See also
