Period: SFR Yugoslavia

Region: Croatia

The Croatian criminal Marko Babic - Vukovar 1991

Marko Babić (1965–2007) was a Croatian shoemaker, guest-worker (gastarbeiter), and military colonel who, in the early 1990s, took part in the dismantling of Yugoslavia and the ensuing wars.

In the spring of 1991, Babić returned to Vukovar, where he obtained a weapon and became a member of Croatian paramilitary formations. Together with his armed group, he participated in and planned the ethnic cleansing of Serbian civilians in the Borovo Naselje district. Later, these armed units, including his own, were integrated into the Vukovar 204th Brigade, where he became deputy to Blago Zadro, the notorious commander of the III Battalion.

During October and November of 1991, Babić engaged fiercely with the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) and Serbian Territorial Defense forces around Trpinjska cesta. He gained particular notoriety for reportedly destroying 14 JNA tanks. After Blago Zadro’s death, he assumed command of the 3rd Battalion.

Within his area of responsibility were several privately run detention sites—camps where Serbian civilian detainees from Borovo Naselje, as well as captured JNA soldiers, were held. Babić personally ordered the execution of Serbian civilians, among them Darinka Grujić, president of the Yugoslav Red Cross in Borovo.

When the JNA succeeded in mid-November 1991 in breaching the so‑called Zeng sector of Vukovar, a general breakdown occurred among Croatian paramilitaries. A small group led by Marko Babić withdrew toward Vinkovci. The remainder were captured and taken to the penitentiary in Sremska Mitrovica, subsequently appearing before a military tribunal in Belgrade.

Babić’s group later became part of the Croatian Army’s 5th Guards Brigade “Sokolovi,” continuing its criminal campaign throughout Croatia.

He left the military in 1997 and refused to accept a wartime pension. He went on to produce documentary films centered on the Vukovar battlefield.

He died in the summer of 2007, in Zagreb, from complications related to a stroke, and was buried several days later in Vukovar at the Memorial Cemetery in the Alley of Defenders.

BIOGRAPHY

Marko Babić was born on February 16, 1965, in Vukovar, growing up in Borovo Naselje, the western part of the settlement. His father was Stipan (b. 1929), and his mother was Ivana née Budić (b. 1933).

Although his ancestors were Serbian Orthodox, they converted to Catholicism in the nineteenth century—a move aligned with Vatican-directed efforts to increase the Croatian populace across regions west of the Drina River and north of the Sava, aiming to strengthen Croatia’s position against Orthodoxy.

His paternal great-grandparents originated from the Cetinska Krajina region near Sinj, between Peruča and Lake Buško beneath Mount Kamešnica. During World War II, his grandfather Filip and two of his brothers joined the armed forces of the clerico-fascist Independent State of Croatia, participating in genocidal acts against Serbs in the Dalmatia–Herzegovina–Bosnia border region. Two of Filip’s brothers died near the war’s end in late 1944 at the hands of partisan units.

Grandmother and grandfather

When a hydroelectric plant was constructed near Peruča, many villages—principally Serbian—were forcibly cleared. In 1958, Marko’s parents migrated with other settlers to Slavonia in search of better living conditions, bringing along their two children: Ivan (b. 1954) and Kata (b. 1957).

Childhood and Education

From early on, Marko displayed a defiant streak against authority. His mother frequently reproached him for his mischief. Blessed with a photographic memory, he often made connections that eluded his peers. He had a passion for reading, particularly Russian literature, and played the melodica. He also practiced basketball in his youth.

He attended elementary school “Bratstvo i jedinstvo” and later “Edvard Kardelj,” a vocational secondary school in Vukovar.

Youth and Emigration

Marko completed mandatory military service in Knin, where commanding officers in the JNA commended him for his proficient firefighting efforts near Makarska on the Adriatic coast. After twelve months, he returned home to unstable employment and low wages, a consequence of the prevailing economic crisis in Yugoslavia.

Seeking better opportunities, he emigrated—first to Germany, then to Switzerland, joining many of his compatriots.

CRIMINAL ODYSSEY

In early 1990, Yugoslavia introduced a multi-party system after four and a half decades of communist dictatorship. This was intended as a step toward democratization and improvement of living conditions.

However, separatist forces used the opportunity to pursue irredentist goals. These groups were also supported by foreign intelligence agencies—including those of Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, and the United States—whose strategic interest aligned with the disintegration of the SFRY.

The Left, the Church, and the Right: A United Front
Stipe Mesic, Franjo Kuharic and Franjo Tudjman

In the Socialist Republic of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman and his militant Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the multi-party elections. Their platform openly supported the creation of an ethnically pure and independent Croatian state and showed public sympathy for the Ustaše—Nazi collaborators during World War II.

Illegal arms procurement and the formation of paramilitary units—so-called National Guard Corps—began, along with constitutional changes. The situation rapidly deteriorated. Serbs felt increasingly insecure as they received threats, lost jobs, and were subjected to psychological and physical abuse. At the same time, euphoria swept among many Croats, as they believed their centuries-old national dream was finally being realized.

In April 1991, Marko Babić returned to Croatia, immediately armed himself, and joined a paramilitary group led by Blago Zadro, a close associate of Tomislav Merčep. Together, they launched organized campaigns of intimidation against Serbs in Borovo Naselje. This included illegal house searches, beatings, rapes, looting, arrests, and forced interrogations.

Marko Babic with comrades in paramilitary forces

By late summer 1991, Branko Borković was sent from Zagreb to form the 204th Brigade. On 25 September, all armed groups from the Vukovar and Ilok municipalities were consolidated into it. Blago Zadro became commander of the infamous 3rd Battalion, with Marko Babić as his deputy. Their operational zone was Trpinjska cesta, where fierce clashes with JNA units occurred. Babić proved himself effective in combat, particularly in destroying tanks with handheld rocket launchers ("zolja"). He forbade his fighters from surrendering.

He instructed his family to flee Vukovar, which they briefly did with help from a neighbor, Đuro Živković. However, his parents returned, unwilling to remain in a refugee center far from home. In mid-September, they were killed in Bobota.

Babić's zone of control included several unofficial detention sites where Serbian civilians and captured JNA soldiers were held and eventually executed. Their bodies were often dumped in the Danube River. His fighters frequently raided streets such as Jadranska, Kozaračka, Majevicka, Banijska, and Hercegovačka, abducting innocent civilians under false accusations of aiding the JNA, signaling troop positions, or harming Croats. Similar actions occurred at Borovo Commerce and the Nova Obućara factory shelters.

Some of serbian vicims in muncipality Vukovar, 1991

In the basement of the Abazija pizzeria, Darinka Dara Grujić—head of the Yugoslav Red Cross—was executed, along with pre-war journalist Predrag Ćirić, Milan Vezmar, and others. The executions were reportedly carried out by Zdenko Štefančić and associates, following Babić’s orders.

Survivors of the Vukovar siege later testified before investigators in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, stating that Babić’s group used captured Serbian civilians as human shields to slow JNA advances—actions in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.

After Blago Zadro was killed on 16 October near the Bobota canal, Babić took command of the unit. He was one of five people who buried Zadro in a secret location.

Babić hugs Blago Zadro 

Babić continued operations with units such as the "Yellow Ants" and the "Desert Rats," which specialized in anti-armor tactics. On the evening of 18 November 1991, Croatian paramilitary forces agreed to surrender, as the JNA had breached their lines in several places. Chaos ensued; many fighters disguised themselves as wounded and took refuge in the hospital. Babić, aware of impending legal consequences, escaped to Vinkovci with a small group.

Most Croatian paramilitaries were captured and taken to the Sremska Mitrovica Penitentiary, where they were tried under SFRY criminal law by a military court in Belgrade. Six were sentenced to death, others to prison terms—but the verdicts were never carried out. All were released on 14 August 1992 in the famous Panić prisoner exchange in Nemetin.

Babić’s Later War Engagements

Babić and his group were integrated into the 5th Guards Brigade “Sokolovi” of the Croatian Army. He participated in further operations, including the Ravni Kotari (Maslenica) offensive, the so-called Southern Front, and criminal-terrorist operation "Flash" in Western Slavonia.

He ended the war with the rank of colonel.

POST-WAR ACTIVITIES

Babić retired in 1997 but refused a veteran’s pension, stating that financial gain was not his motive. In the following years, he was active in promoting the legacy of the so-called Homeland War. He co-produced several documentaries, notably “Heroes of Vukovar,” with assistance from Eduard and Dominik Galić. He remained one of the few Vukovar veterans capable of rallying his wartime comrades.

Memorial park in western Borovo Naselje

Thanks to his efforts, a memorial tank was installed on Trpinjska cesta in Borovo Naselje. After the so-called peaceful reintegration of eastern Croatia, Babić returned to Vukovar. He reportedly remained embittered that the city had not been recaptured militarily, but handed over diplomatically via the Erdut Agreement.

He was often seen at concerts by singer Marko Perković Thompson, known for his anti-Serbian views and admiration for Ante Pavelić. Babić frequently visited Croatian government leaders—including the prime minister, president, and various ministers—without prior appointment, acting as a representative of the veteran population.

DEATH AND LEGACY

In the spring of 2007, Babić began experiencing severe headaches. Doctors diagnosed a brain aneurysm. He was transferred from Vukovar General Hospital to Zagreb’s Rebro Hospital, where he soon died on 5 July 2007 at the age of 42.

His funeral in the Alley of Distinguished Defenders at the Memorial Cemetery in Vukovar drew a large crowd of admirers, including relatives, friends, patriots, former comrades, state officials, and even Catholic clergy.

In recent years, Babić’s presence in Croatian public life has grown. The school he once attended—formerly Edvard Kardelj—was renamed in his honor. Murals bearing his image have appeared across the country, and flags with his likeness are displayed at sports events.

Among Croats in the Balkans, Europe, Australia and North America, Marko Babić is widely regarded as a national hero and symbol of pride.