The Kninjas (), also known as the Red Berets, was a Serb paramilitary unit and a volunteer militia supporting the Army of Serb Krajina during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

. It was based in

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

, the capital of breakaway

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 Serb Autonomous Region (oblast) withi ...

that became the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK). It was led by Serbian-Australian

Dragan Vasiljković Dragan Vasiljković ( sr-cyrl, Драган Васиљковић; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed Captain Dragan () is a convicted war criminal and former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the Kninjas during the Yugoslav Wars. In 200 ...

war criminal, known as "Captain Dragan". The unit was one of several notable Serb paramilitary units, alongside the

White Eagles White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

, Serbian Volunteer Guard,

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

, Wolves of Vučjak, and others.

History

Vasiljković, who had served in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

, had returned to Yugoslavia in 1990 during the Croatian independence movement, eventually being hired as an instructor for volunteers in the summer of 1991. At this time,

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

daily ''

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

'' published a comic book named ''The Demons Return'' that featured the Kninjas fighting the Croats with

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. The unit, deemed elite, was a special unit that answered in part to Knin police chief

Milan Martić Milan Martić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Мартић; born 18 December 1954) is a Croatian Serb politician and war criminal who served as the president of the unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed state largely populated by Ser ...

. According to Martić himself, he was supplied of equipment and weapons mostly from the Serbian government. It became the special forces of the RSK Interior Ministry. The name, a pun on "Knin" and "Ninjas", was informal; the unit did not have an official name, but the term was used for the mostly Vasiljković-trained volunteers. Members of the unit were involved in the December 1991 Bruška massacre. Veterans of the unit later joined the Special Operations Unit of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. Vasiljković served a 15-year prison sentence for war crimes by the Croatian court in Split. He was released from prison on March 28, 2020. The emblem was a customized

Serbian cross The Serbian cross (), also known as the Firesteels (), is one of the National symbols of Serbia, national symbols of Serbia. It is present on the coat of arms of Serbia, coat of arms and flag of Serbia. The cross is based on a tetragrammic cross e ...

, with blue background and inverted firesteels. In the 257 operations conducted by the Kninjas, only one out of the 64 soldiers died due to a direct explosion by a grenade on his head and another four were injured.

Cultural impact

The

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

nationalist singer Baja Mali Knindža chose his stagename in honour of the Kninjas. He has also recorded a well-known song called ''Knindže Krajišnici'' ("Kninjas of the Krajina").

References

Sources

* * * {{Yugoslav Wars Paramilitary organizations in the Yugoslav Wars Paramilitary organizations based in Serbia Military units and formations of the Croatian War of Independence Military units and formations of the Bosnian War Serbian war crimes in the Croatian War of Independence 1991 establishments in Serbia 1991 establishments in Croatia Organizations established in 1991 Defunct paramilitary organizations