Omarska
Omarska
Омарска | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Main street | |
Omarska | |
| Coordinates: 44°53′30″N 16°53′57″E / 44.89167°N 16.89917°E | |
| Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Entity | Republika Srpska |
| Municipality | Prijedor |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Omarska (Serbian Cyrillic: Омарска) is a small town near Prijedor in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town includes an old iron mine and ore processing plant. During the Bosnian War it was the site of the Omarska concentration camp.
History
Early and modern history
Archaeological finds from the wider Omarska region include remains from the Neolithic, Copper Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.[1]
The first municipality of Omarska was formed in 1929. It included Omarska and the surrounding villages of Niševići, Gradina, Jelićka, Marićka, Krivaja, Petrov Gaj, Kevljani, Lamovita, Bistrica and Busnovi.[1]
World War II
During World War II, a massacre of Bosnian Serb civilians occurred in Omarska by the Ustaše.[2]
After the Second World War, Omarska again functioned as a local administrative centre for a short period. In the early 1960s the area was incorporated into the municipality of Prijedor.[1]
Bosnian War
The Omarska camp was a concentration camp run by Bosnian Serb forces in Omarska, set up for Bosniak and Croat men and women during the Prijedor massacre.[3][4] Functioning in the first months of the Bosnian War in 1992, it was one of 677 alleged detention centers and camps set up throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war.[5] While nominally an "investigation center" or "assembly point" for members of the non-Serb population,[3] Human Rights Watch classified Omarska as a concentration camp.[6]
Geography
Main Features
Omarska covers an area of 246.73 km², of which 155.05 km² is arable land, 88.44 km² is forest, and 3.24 km² is barren land. It extends on the southern slopes of the Kozara mountain, the eastern part of the Prijedor-Omarsko field and the northern slopes of the Bereganica mountain and includes 12 settlements: Petrov Gaj, Kevljani, Lamovita, Babići, Omarska, Bistrica, Niševići, Gradina, Jelicka, Krivaja, Marićka and Busnovi.[1] The terrain of Omarska is mainly plains, 65% lowlands and 35% highlands. The average temperature (over the year) is +12 degrees celsius. The average yearly rain level is 1200mm.[1]
Hydrography
The river system in Omarska is extensive. Through the middle of Omarska territory runs the river Gomjenica, which has great agricultural significance locally, because it runs through the most fertile land in this area. Gomjenica is a confluent of Sana.[1] The river joins Sana in Prijedor.
Demographics
According to the 1971 Yugoslav census, the population of Omarska was 19,044 - of which 16,084 were Serbs, 2,198 were Muslims, 376 were Croats and 433 were others. According to the 2013 census, Omarska had a population of 3,081 inhabitants.
Education
There is one elementary school in Omarska, OŠ "Vuk Karadžić", which has about 800 pupils.
Sports
Omarska has a football club, FK Omarska, which competes in the 2nd League-West of the Republika Srpska.[7] Željko Buvač was born here, ex footballer, now assistant manager of Liverpool FC.[8][9]
Gallery
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Church of St. Tsar Lazar
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Railway Station
References
- ^ a b c d e f Elaborat o opravdanosti teritorijalne promjene Grada Prijedora (PDF) (Report) (in Serbian). City of Prijedor. pp. 18–21. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ Judah, Tim (2000). The Serbs: History, Myth, and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. Yale University Press. p. 234. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ a b Simons, Marlise (3 November 2001). "New York Times: 5 Bosnian Serbs Guilty of War Crimes at Infamous Camp". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Osborn, Andrew (3 November 2001). "Guardian: Five Serbs guilty of Omarska camp atrocities". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ United Nations (1994). Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts established pursuant to security council resolution 780 (Report). Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
- ^ "Bosnia and Herzegovina: Background". HRW.org. Human Rights Watch.
- ^ "M:tel Prva liga". Football Association of Republika Srpska. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ Marković, Nemanja (3 May 2018). "Željko Buvač: Vengerov naslednik". Danas.
- ^ "«Динамо» и Желько Бувач продлили контракт на три года" [Dynamo and Željko Buvač extended the contract for 3 years] (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 26 April 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
External links
- http://www.omarska.net, local site & forum
- http://eko-omarska.org Archived 2017-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, local environmental movement's site