The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Bosanska Krajina ( sr, Српска aутономна област Босанска Крајина, Srpska autonomna oblast Bosanska Krajina) was a self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Oblast within today's

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. It was sometimes called the Autonomous Oblast of Krajina, or the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK).ICTY - Radoslav Brdjanin verdict
/ref> SAO Bosanska Krajina was located in the geographical region named

Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...

. Its capital was

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. The region was subsequently included into

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...

History

The SAO Bosanska Krajina developed in summer and autumn of 1991 in preparation for a step to independence being taken by Bosnia like

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

had done. The goal was to have areas where Serbs had a majority or a significant portion of population prevent such independence. The Serbs for this created three Serbian autonomous districts and one Serbian autonomous region (SAO Bosanska Krajina being the region). The SAO Bosanska Krajina was created from the Community (Association) of Bosanska Krajina Municipalities, with the exception that it did not include the region known as Cazinska Krajina or

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

municipality at first. Other similar situations were done in other Associations of Municipalities (or Community of Municipalities) in Bosnia, which were a type of government created under the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On or about 16 September 1991, the Association of Bosanska Krajina Municipalities was transformed into the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK), which came to include (amongst others) the following municipalities:

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

Ripač Ripač ( sr-cyrl, Рипач) is a village in the municipality of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ripač is the location of a border crossing with Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms ...

Bosanska Dubica Kozarska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Козарска Дубица), previously known as Bosanska Dubica ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Дубица) is a town and municipality located in northern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 20 ...

, Bosanska Gradiška,

Bosanska Krupa Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants. It is ...

Bosanski Novi Novi Grad ( Serbian Cyrillic: ), formerly Bosanski Novi ( sr-cyrl, Босански Нови), is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administratively, it is located in the Republika Srpska entity. Situated in the far northwest ...

Bosanski Petrovac Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a p ...

Čelinac Čelinac ( sr-cyr, Челинац) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 15,548 inhabitants, while the town of Čelinac has a population of 5,097 inhabitants. Geograph ...

Donji Vakuf Donji Vakuf ( sr-cyrl, Доњи Вакуф, ) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded by Malkoçoğlu İbrahim Bey in 1572 and wa ...

, Ključ,

Kotor Varoš Kotor Varoš ( sr-cyrl, Котор Варош) is a town and municipality located in north-western Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, it has a population of 19,710 inhabitants, while the town of Kotor Varo ...

, Prnjavor,

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northweste ...

Šipovo Šipovo ( sr-cyrl, Шипово) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the southern part of the Bosanska Krajina region. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,293 inhabitant ...

and

Teslić Teslić ( sr-cyrl, Теслић) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the central part of the Republika Srpska, on the banks of Usora River. As of 2013, the town has a popul ...

. A separate Assembly of the Serbian People in Bosnia and Herzegovina was established on 24 October 1991, dominated by the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). On 9 January 1992, that Assembly adopted a declaration on the proclamation of the

Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation) ...

. The geographical area comprising the ARK thus became part of the proclaimed Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unlike the other SAOs in Bosnia which were formed over summer and fall, the SAO Bosanska Krajina was officially formed on April 25, 1991, but under the name ARK (Autonomous Region of Krajina — referring to Bosanska Krajina). There were attempts during the summer of 1991 to merge it with

SAO Krajina The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Srpska autonomna oblast Krajina, Српска аутономна област Крајина) or SAO Krajina () was a self-proclaimed Serbian autonomous region (oblast) wit ...

. On September 12 its name was officially changed to SAO Bosanska Krajina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Bosanska Krajina States and territories disestablished in 1992 States and territories established in 1991 History of Republika Srpska Separatism in Bosnia and Herzegovina History of Bosanska Krajina