Dubrovnik, the "Pearl of the Adriatic", besieged and destroyed
The medieval town of Dubrovnik, a World Heritage Site, was besieged and bombed from both the nearby hills and from the sea where the "Yugoslav" navy had formed a naval blockade aimed at preventing Croatia from obtaining the arms that were vital for its defence. The siege of the town that began in October 1991 would not end until the end of May 1992, when it was broken by Croatian forces. During those eight months, fewer than a thousand Croatian defenders faced 30,000 enemy soldiers, supported by 120 pieces of artillery and 150 armoured combat vehicles. In all, 428 Croatian soldiers and policemen and 92 civilians (including the author of this shot, photographer Pavo Urban) were killed in and around Dubrovnik, while 30,000 refugees were forced to flee the fighting.
