34th ANNIVERSARY OF ILIDŽA UNIT OF INTERIOR MINISTRY’S SPECIAL POLICE BRIGADE MARKED

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JUNE 13 /SRNA/ – Members of the 8th Unit of the Special Police Brigade of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior reached all parts of Srpska and defended what had been entrusted to them – the Serb people and Serb territory, it was emphasized at the marking of the 34th anniversary of the formation of this Ilidža unit.

During the war, around 300 members served this elite unit of the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry, more than 240 were wounded, and 17 were killed, with an average age of under 24. Wartime commander of the 8th Ilidža Special Police Unit, Branislav Okuka, said he was proud that the tradition of the unit’s members who fell for Republika Srpska has been preserved for many years. “Republika Srpska then and now was our vow and obligation to build it, protect it, and preserve it. I hope that through these gatherings, care for comrades, and especially the families of the fallen, we are making a contribution,” Okuka said. He stressed that living in those times meant only one thing – having the strength, ability, and conviction that Republika Srpska is an eternal category in this region. A memorial service for the fallen unit members was held at the Church of St. Demetrius in Veljine, followed by the laying of flowers and wreaths at the memorial outside the Istočno Novo Sarajevo Police Station. Head of the veterans of the 8th Ilidža Unit of the Special Police Brigade, Duško Tešić, said that the wartime path of the unit began on April 4, 1992, when a special unit was formed at the Ilidža Police Station, which later expanded into a special company and then the 8th Special Unit. Tešić, who also served as deputy commander, explained that the 8th Unit was responsible for the Sarajevo Field area, but its members were present on all battlefields - from Trebinje to Krajina. “There was no battlefield where we were not present as an exceptionally mobile unit,” Tešić said, adding that the Sarajevo front was particularly specific and the most difficult of all. Tešić added that 23 members of the unit died after the war, with an average age of under 48, as a consequence of depleted uranium bombardment and wartime injuries. General Ljubiša Borovčanin, wartime deputy commander of the Special Police Brigade, said that the unit being marked today was based almost deep in enemy territory and its members were constantly engaged in fighting or potential combat. “Despite that, the members of the unit reached all parts of Republika Srpska and defended what had been entrusted to us – the Serb people and Serb territory, and wherever they were, they proudly returned to their base and their people, as they now proudly stand among the people” Borovčanin stresses. Aleksandra Mijanović Bubnjević was six years old when her father, a member of the 8th Unit, was killed on June 2, 1992, in Ahatovići at the age of 32. “We gather here every year with his comrades to pay tribute for everything he did,” she said. The marking of the 34th anniversary of the formation of the 8th /Ilidža/ Unit was attended by former members of the unit, families of fallen and deceased soldiers, representatives of all wartime units of the Special Police Brigade, the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, local communities, and the Gendarmerie of Serbia. The special unit at the Ilidža police station was formed at the beginning of April 1992. It became part of the Special Police Brigade of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior as part of the Sarajevo-Romanija and Birač detachments. With a later reorganization, the Ilidža unit became part of the First Detachment of the Special Police Brigade of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior until January 14, 1995, when it was separated by decision of the line minister and established as the 8th Special Unit of the Special Police Brigade of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior.