Croatia celebrated land retake in 1995, Serbia calls Nazi

Croatia on Sunday celebrated the anniversary of the 1995 military offensive on which it recovered lands held by rebel rebels, while Serbia's president compared the operation to policies of Nazi Germany.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's comments have raised tensions between the two main Balkan rivals, their conflicting views illustrate continuing divisions stemming from the 1991-95 war.

The war in Croatia erupted when the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. Minority Serbs in Croatia, backed by Serbia, took up arms and formed the self-declared state, refusing to separate from the Yugoslav federation and expel hundreds and thousands of Croats from their homes.

More than 10,000 people were killed and many Croatian cities were destroyed in the years that followed before Croatia in August 1995 took control of Serb-owned lands. This attack, dubbed Storm, sent 200,000 minority Serbs who fled the country in long miles of tractors, cars and horse chariots.

Croatia on Sunday hailed the offensive as a perfect military victory that reunited the country's territory and ended the war. Senior officials attended a central ceremony in the former rebel castle of Knin, which included a flight from military planes.

The United States and the Israeli Army sender were among the guests attending the event, while Israeli planes participated in the flight, Croatia's defence ministry said.

“Storm has become a successful military operation in text,”, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said. The “was the time of total unity of the Croatian people and Croatian soldiers”, she said.